Veil of Darkness
by FallenAngel2013
Summary: Karla Shepard lost everything on Mindoir. She planned to head to Earth to make something of her ruined life, but when the ship crashes on an unknown planet she finds three unlikely mentors – Carolyn Fry, William Johns, and one of the galaxies most dangerous murderers, Richard B. Riddick. One will lead her through a path of deceit, while the others will lead her out of hell.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **_**Karla Shepard – Colonist/War Hero/Soldier.**_

_**Takes place during **_**Pitch Black**_**. Jack from the movie is the same Jack from **_**Mass Effect 2 and 3**_** – all of that will be explained throughout the story. Shepard is 18-years-old, Jack is 11, and Riddick is 28. **_

_**I plan to write a sequel set in **_**Mass Effect 2**_** if all goes well with the story.  
**_

**Summary: **_**Karla Shepard lost everything on Mindoir and learned the hard way that the galaxy was a dangerous place. Now that she's old enough, she has booked passage on an old ship to Earth to join the Alliance and make something of her life. But when the ship crashes on an unknown planet, Shepard finds three unlikely mentors – a woman named Carolyn Fry, a "cop" named Johns, and one of the galaxies most dangerous murderers, Richard B. Riddick. One will lead her through a path of deceit, while the others will lead her out of hell. She just doesn't know who the wolf in sheep's clothing is. **_

**Disclaimer: **_**I do not own **_**Pitch Black/The Chronicles of Riddick**_** or **_**Mass Effect**_**. I'm just playing in the sandbox.**_

* * *

The first thing Karla Shepard became aware of was that the fog in her head was beginning to clear as she slowly woke up.

She remembered that she had been planning to catch a lift to Earth on one of the newer passenger ships – one of the nice ones that traveled through Relays and where she'd have a room of her own – but passage on one of those ships was incredibly expensive. Not to mention, she ended up using a chunk of her credits to buy a ticket for a runaway girl named Jack. She didn't know the biotic very well, only that Jack was on the run from a group called Cerberus and that she'd been abused after running away, thus the girl was left wanting people to believe she was a boy. Jack was looking to sneak aboard a ship when Shepard found her.

Feeling sorry for her, Shepard bought her lunch and shortly after offered to buy her a ticket to Earth as well, and the girl gladly accepted. Her mother would have thrown a fit if she knew Shepard was helping a runaway, but Shepard felt that the girl had a legitimate reason for wanting to run.

Taking into consideration that she'd be purchasing two tickets as opposed to just one, she was forced to buy passage on the cheapest transport she could find just so she'd have enough credits left over to get to where she needed to go on Earth. Unfortunately, the ship she found did not travel through Relays, being a much older ship model. Instead it traveled the old fashioned way which left everyone in cryo-sleep. The moment Shepard entered cryo-sleep she'd been out cold in a dreamless sleep, and now her mind was so foggy that her head almost hurt. She was told beforehand that waking from cryo would leave her disoriented and may result in temporary memory loss for a few minutes. She was told right, but the disorientation and memory loss were already fading and she finally opened her dark blue eyes.

Across from her cryo-locker, she saw that a few others were also awake and appeared to be highly confused, and after a moment she too became confused.

Why were they waking up? Why was the ship shaking so badly?

Straining in her locker, hands pressed against the glass, she tried to see what was going on but saw no one walking around and no sign hinting as to what was happening. There were only three crew members on board but surely someone would be by to explain the situation.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement and pressed her face to the glass in an attempt to see who was walking around. It was that cop she'd seen bringing in the prisoner when she first boarded the ship with Jack. Who exactly his prisoner was, she didn't know, but he looked downright frightening with his hands and ankles cuffed, blindfolded, and silenced with a bit in his mouth.

_Why the hell are you walking around?_ She thought, craning her neck when the cop walked out of sight. Checking the prisoner's cryo-locker, she saw the guy still locked inside, so ruled out the possibility of him having gotten out.

Whatever was going on, the cop would probably be safer in his locker.

The ship jerked violently all of a sudden, jostling her in her locker.

And then they crashed.

The ship hit the ground with enough force to throw Shepard around in her locker like a rag doll despite the restraints meant to keep her safely in place like a seat-belt. Light erupted in the cabin and she shut her eyes tightly, bracing herself with her hands in an effort to avoid getting hurt. Opening her blue eyes against the glaring light, she gasped in horror as lockers were sucked out of the ship. She could only pray that the people in them were still asleep. Other lockers were torn from the wall and rocked around the cabin madly but remained inside the ship.

One of the freed lockers rammed into hers violently, causing her head to smack against the glass door in front of her hard enough to make her ears ring and vision blur before falling into darkness.

* * *

_Thump, thump, thump. _

"Child? Child, are you all right?" an accented voice asked as he hit the glass door a few times with his palm, hoping the noise would wake her.

Shepard slowly came to, opening her eyes despite the throbbing pain in her skull. Everything was blurry for a moment and then began to clear until she could make out the face of a dark skinned man in foreign clothing.

Forcing back the nausea, she gave a careful nod. "I'm okay."

Unbuckling her restraints, she pulled the exit latch and the glass doors opened a few inches but no more, jammed from the locker that had crashed into hers. With the man's help, she pushed forcefully against it while he pulled, finally managing to make the doors open completely.

Wobbly on her feet, she stepped out, holding onto some metal debris for support.

"My name is Abu al-Walid," the man said, grasping her arm to help prevent her from falling. "You may refer to me as Imam."

"Shepard," she replied, deciding against giving her first name, having not gone by it since the batarian raid on Mindoir.

While she was running to escape the slavers, all she could hear was people calling her first name, begging and anyone else they saw who wasn't caught to help them. Everyone but herself tried to help those people, and now hearing her name, Karla, brought back too many unwanted memories, so she went by her last name, finding strength in the name she was so rarely called before her family was killed.

Looking around, she saw a few others wandering about, some calling for their companions, others helping people out of their lockers, and her mind went to her young friend.

Pushing aside the pain in her head, she searched through the rubble for Jack, peering into unopened lockers. A few times she felt her stomach lurch. Not everyone in the lockers was alive, and some had their eyes wide open in permanent fear.

Spotting a woman with a cutting touch working on getting through the doors of an over turned locker, she rushed over to her side and looked into the banged up locker. Relief flooded through her whole being and she sat back on her haunches, patiently waiting for the girl masquerading as her little brother to be freed.

The moment the doors were cut through, Jack rolled out, looking from the Australian woman and then to Shepard. "So, I guess something went wrong?"

Shepard breathed out a laugh, and replied, "You could say that." Rising to her feet, she took hold of Jack's hand and pulled her to her feet. Giving Shazza a small smile of thanks, she said, "I'm Shepard. This is my brother, Jack."

"Shazza." Looking behind her at a dark skinned man with short curly hair, she added, "That's my friend, Zeke."

Zeke gave her a curt nod before continuing his search through the lockers, making sure they found all of the survivors that were still in the wreckage.

Shepard looked at all of the faces of those lucky enough to have survived. There was Jack, Imam, three boys, Shazza, Zeke, a man in nice clothes and glasses, and a woman wearing a crewman's uniform clambering through some rubble.

Out of forty-plus passengers, this was all that was left?

She didn't want to believe that so many had perished in the crash, not when she'd seen so many waking up a few seconds after she did.

Abruptly, Shepard recalled the cop wandering around and her heart started pounding.

"Wait here a second," the young blond instructed before starting her search for the man.

The chances of him surviving were slim to none seeing as he hadn't been in his locker during the crash. A slim chance was better than no chance, though, so she continued to look under debris and all around.

Craning her head to see above a particularly large pile of twisted metal, she saw a booted foot sticking out from under a metal plate and some bars.

"Shit…" she swore under her breath and hurriedly moved through and around the debris until she reached him.

Tossing away the bars, she then pulled at the metal plate, gritting her teeth and straining to lift it off the redhead. When at last she managed to get it off of him, she knelt beside him and gave him a gentle shake, not wanting to cause too much harm if he'd broken something.

Groaning, the cop brought his hands to his eyes before pinching the bridge of his nose and attempting to sit up.

"Take it easy," Shepard cautioned, helping him into a sitting position. "You okay?"

"Fantastic," he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds and raking his fingers through his short red curls. Taking a deep breath and shaking his head a few times, he looked at her. "Anyone else alive?"

She nodded. "A few, yeah. Not a whole lot, though."

The cop sighed but didn't look too surprised by her reply. After a moment, he pulled himself to his feet and she followed his example.

He looked at her again from head to toe before he introduced himself, offering his hand, "Name's Johns. William Johns."

"Shepard." She gave a small shrug while shaking his hand. "Just Shepard."

He smirked as he released her small hand, probably because she'd only given her last name, but the moment he looked past her the smirk left and he reached for something behind him. Whatever he was looking for wasn't there and his jaw clenched.

"Get back to the others," he ordered tightly.

Confused, she looked behind her at what had caused him to change his tune, and she swallowed.

The locker that had held the prisoner was open and the occupant was gone.

Doing as she was told, she hurried back to the others, hardly wanting to have a run in with Johns' prisoner.

Finding Jack waiting for her where she'd left her, Shepard stayed close to the girl, not about to let anything happen to her. At Jack's questioning stare, Shepard just offered a small smile, not wanting to worry her. The girl looked mildly put off by Shepard keeping close in a protective manner, but she didn't move away. In fact, she moved a bit closer. Shepard figured that she wasn't used to someone looking out for her.

A minute or so later, she heard a loud thump behind her from another part of the cabin and her throat tightened.

"Imam, can you watch Jack, please?" she asked. Unlike last time, she didn't want her to be left alone.

Frowning, the man nodded and put a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Hey," Jack called as Shepard started walking off. "Where you going?"

"Just stay there," Shepard ordered and went to the back of the cabin.

Everything was turned over and she had to kick some debris off the steps that led to the lower portion of the cabin. The short walk down the steps left her out of breath and she had to pause, sucking in gulps of air.

_No way am I this out of shape_.

She ran two miles every other day and swam a lot so there was no reason she should be out of breath from doing nothing more than walking down a few steps.

Breathing heavily, she searched for the source of the thud, knowing full well that she would find either the cop or the prisoner standing. Stepping through some doors, the weight on her chest lifted as she saw Johns walking the prisoner to a busted beam, undoing his handcuffs just long enough to restrain his hands behind the beam.

She stared at the man and was suddenly very aware of the kind of danger they had all been in before Johns got him re-chained. His arms were incredibly muscular and his shoulders broad. She didn't have a clear view of him, but his arms looked like they could do some serious damage if given the opportunity.

Holstering a pistol, Johns caught sight of her and walked over, taking her by the arm and leading her back the way she came. "Best you stay away from him, princess," he cautioned. "Pretty girls like yourself ain't safe around him."

Princess?

While she didn't like the girly nickname, she paid no mind to it and said nothing. She was use to nicknames like princess, sweetheart, honey, angel, and the like. Most of it was because she was young – eighteen – and had long light blond hair, dark blue eyes, and wasn't very tall – only 5'4 if she stood perfectly straight. Not many people took her seriously unless they were aware that she was the only one left from the Mindoir slaver raid, but even before that she faced issues with her appearance. She worked just has hard as her brother on her family's farm but was never taken seriously by those who didn't know her. It was enough to drive her insane. But seeing as Johns didn't appear to mean anything negative by calling her princess, she let it go, and allowed him to lead her back up the steps to join the others.

Unlike before when everyone was talking and moving all over the place, everyone was quiet and huddled around someone. Pushing her way to the front, curiosity getting the better of her, she saw the woman in a crewman's uniform kneeling next to another crewman in a chair, a long metal bar sticking out of his chest.

"I'm sorry," the woman whispered. "I'm so sorry."

The woman cried silently and lightly touched his cheek in sorrow.

"Get it out of me!" the man shouted, eyes snapping open and making everyone jump. Even Shepard, who had grown use to sudden movements, nearly jumped out of her skin.

Shaking, the woman who she assumed was the Captain grabbed the bar.

"Don't touch it!" the man shouted, gurgling on blood, and she let go immediately. "Don't… Don't you touch that handle!"

What the hell did he mean by handle? The woman must have known because a look of dread, sorrow, and guilt washed over her face, causing her to bite her lower lip.

"Get it out of him!" Zeke shouted at her.

"No, no, no, it's too close to his heart," Shazza stated, shaking her head.

Back on Mindoir, Shepard had witnessed some of the worst wounds ever. Though she only sported a scar across her lips from having a knife swung at her and scars on her feet from having run barefoot for hours, she'd seen slit throats, bullet and stab wounds. A few colonists and herself had taken refuge in an attic before they were discovered hiding and one of the men had had a similar wound as the man in the chair did.

But when the raid first began, she'd seen one man in particular who had sported a wound that had been just as similar, and that man had been her older brother, Brian.

She'd been home sick with the flu when the raid began, and only Brian was there with her, having ditched school to keep her company while their parents were in town for supplies. When the batarians came, Brian dragged her out of bed in her tank top and shorts, shouting at her to run when a batarian kicked down the front door. Her brother attacked the batarian in order to buy her the precious seconds she needed to run into the woods.

She hid in the woods until the batarians left and then she snuck back into her home in search of her brother. She found him lying on the floor with a long knife protruding from his chest as he took in labored breaths, unable to fill his lungs completely as blood continuously flooded his throat no matter how many times he tried to swallow to clear it. Through the agony, he begged her to take it out, and shouted at her when she refused. Only when he cried out in pain did she give in and remove the knife.

Brian bled out a few short minutes later.

It took her a long time to accept that she'd spared him an agonizing death by removing the knife. In the long run, it had been for the best.

"Maybe… maybe you should take it out," Shepard offered. "I mean, I don't see any way we can help him."

"You want him to die?" Shazza asked incredulously. To the woman, she urged, "Don't take it out, Fry, he'll die!"

"He's going to die either way. He'll bleed out and die sooner rather than later if she takes it out. Might be more humane to let him go that way than to prolong it."

Shazza scoffed, looking away.

Fry looked to Shepard, then Shazza, and then said to everyone, "There's some medi-gel in the med-lock in the back of the cabin."

For a moment, no one answered.

Solemnly, the man in expensive clothes replied, "Not anymore, there's not."

Shutting her eyes tightly, Fry said quietly, "Get out of here. Everyone."

One by one, each of the survivors began to leave until only Shepard, Jack, and Johns remained. Jack stood behind Shepard and Johns leaned against the wall.

Sniffling, Fry looked at them. "Get out of here."

Shepard sighed and nodded, turning Jack around to walk out of the ship, followed by Johns. If the woman wanted privacy with her dying shipmate, Shepard would give her that, knowing what it was like to not be able to do anything for someone who was hurt.

On their way out, Jack looked to the right and Shepard couldn't help but follow her gaze to the chained prisoner.

Johns put his hand on Shepard's shoulder and gave her a nudge forward.

Taking the hint from the cop, she led Jack out of the ship.

Once outside, Jack asked, "How come I can't breathe? Feels like I just ran or something."

"Low oxygen," Johns suggested, looking around as they reached the others. "Least there's enough to keep us living."

"Yeah," agreed Shazza, "But I feel one lung short."

"Same here," said the man in expensive clothes. When Shepard looked at him questioningly, he seemed to realize that he'd yet to introduce himself and walked over, extending his hand. "Paris P. Ogilvie. And you are?"

"Shepard," she replied, shaking his hand growing tired of having to give her name.

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Mhm," she muttered, attention on the others survivors. "Should we go looking for others?" she asked, looking at Johns who had climbed to the roof of the ship. If there were other survivors, they needed to help them.

For a long moment, he did nothing but stare out at the desert. "Think I found them."

Everyone moved at once, climbing onto the ship to see, the Muslim kids scurrying up to the front. What they saw made everyone gasp.

The remains of the ship lay scattered across the desert, and among the debris were the other lockers and bodies of their fellow passengers. Some bodies were whole while others were nothing more than a twisted mess of meat and bone.

Some of the survivors looked ready to be sick at the sight, but Shepard, Johns, and Jack just stood there looking out at the sight. Shepard had seen worse on Mindoir, she suspected that Johns had seen some gore as he was a cop, and Jack… well, she didn't know much about Jack, only that she'd been abused and that she was on the run, but for her to stare at the carnage so blankly...

Shepard sighed, moving to sit down with her back to the gore. _Only eleven and the girl can stare at something like this without blinking._

Ushering the young pilgrims away from the sight, Imam said to the boys, "Come. Let us pray for those who are lost."

* * *

Johns watched Shepard as she sat on the roof of the ship after the pilgrims walked off.

He was surprised that she was as composed as she was after seeing the bodies. The boy with her didn't seem shaken either, but he figured it was because the kid was trying to be tough and not worry his sister. But Shepard's lack of reaction was strange, not looking the type to be able to stand such a gory sight. It seemed as though there was more to her than just a pretty face. She was quite pleasant to look at with her long light blond hair pulled back into a ponytail, her dark blue eyes, and slim, petite figure. The jeans she wore certainly accented her nice looking ass, and the brown top she wore underneath her black jacket showed just enough cleavage to tempt any man with eyes without revealing too much.

Deciding that if he played his cards right his time stuck on the planet wouldn't be so lonely, he put on the charm and walked over, kneeling beside her.

"You all right?" he asked gently.

Turning her eyes to him, she sighed. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. Just don't like seeing dead bodies, is all."

"Don't seem too torn up about it," he observed, cocking his head to the side.

Keeping her eyes on the ground, she mumbled quietly, "Mindoir."

That was all she'd needed to say.

Everyone knew about the colony that was attacked. When the batarians hit a colony on a raid, everyone was either killed or enslaved, but Mindoir had been the exception. Unlike all the other colonies the batarians hit, one person managed to survive the raid on Mindoir without being enslaved.

_Shepard… Karla Shepard_. No wonder the girl hadn't been torn up. She'd already been to hell and back.

He hadn't heard that her brother survived as well, but that could be because the boy would have been rather little at the time. The media probably wasn't given that little detail, given the kid's age.

"I heard about that." He gave her a smile, "You've got some guts, princess, if you survived that with your brother and aren't crazy."

She barely smiled, but the smile was there. "That's what everyone says."

"What everyone says is true." Rising to his feet, he held his hand out to her.

She stared at it for a moment before accepting his help and rising to her feet. Meeting his eyes again, she smiled, blushed a bit, and walked off to her brother on the other side of the ship.

Watching her leave, a slow smile slid onto his face. The girl, like so many others, was nibbling at the bait. It was only a matter of time before he had her.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: _Shepard is going to be given some of the other characters' lines from the movie/book so that it all flows a bit better. Some scenes from the movie/book will be altered to fit with the Mass Effect universe. Just thought I'd point that out. _**

* * *

Unable to stand the heat on top of the ship, Shepard patted Jack on the shoulder and hopped off the ship to hide under some shade, fanning herself. Mindoir had been hot during the summer, reaching the upper 90s on occasion, but there had been trees all over the place and lakes and streams, plenty of places to take refuge from the blistering heat. But there was nothing on this planet but dirt, sand, and rock. To make matters worse, there were two suns beating down on everyone, adding to the heat that had to be in the 100s.

In her search for shade, she passed Fry as she exited the ship. The woman looked more worn than anyone else and considerably shaken.

"I pulled the bar outta him," Fry said quietly and Shepard stopped, looking over her shoulder at the woman. "Thought about what you said and figured it was a quicker death to just let him bleed. More merciful."

"I'm sorry," she murmured, unsure of what else to say.

It was the right decision, but not a pleasant one.

Fry merely nodded and went up to talk to the others.

Standing there for a moment, staring at Fry's back, Shepard tried to decide whether she should continuing looking for relief from the suns or if she should try to help out somehow. It seemed like so much needed to be done now that she thought about it, but she had no clue as to where she should begin or how she could help.

Rubbing the back of her neck, she took notice that her sweaty skin was hot to the touch, made almost feverish from the burning suns.

Sighing, needing to get out from under the two blazing suns for at least a moment, she walked back into the shade of the ship, pulling off her black jacket on the way in, leaving her in a brown camisole with the straps of her black bra showing. She leaned back against some busted metal once inside and tossed her jacket onto some rubble. The throbbing in her head was still there and she reached up to touch her forehead, wincing when she came into contact with the tender bruise.

Closing her eyes, she ran the back of her hand across her sweaty forehead, praying for some relief from the heat.

Somewhere behind her, chains rattled softly, causing her eyes to snap open. She'd forgotten that she wasn't alone. Turning around, she stared at the back of the criminal.

He had to be someone pretty damn dangerous if he was chained up the way he was with a bit in his mouth.

She frowned. _Why the hell does he have a bit anyway? What's he going to do, get snap-happy and bite us?_

Johns certainly seemed to think he was a very real threat by how he acted to him being missing earlier.

Worrying on her lower lip, Shepard stepped away from the metal she'd been leaning against to get a better look at the man. She couldn't deny that she thought the cop was attractive, but he'd gone from her mind entirely once she spotted the chained prisoner, the restrained man before her being far more interesting.

Unaware of her own actions, she took a step towards him.

"You're too curious for your own good," scolded Johns from behind her, hand going to her shoulder to prevent her from going any further.

Fry had come with him and now stood next to Shepard, watching the prisoner with unmasked curiosity.

As if sensing some unasked question, Johns said, "Big-Evil there is Richard B. Riddick. He just escaped from a maximum prison."

Shepard did a double take, staring wide eyed in disbelief. That man was one of the most feared humans in the galaxy. More people had heard of him rather than famous soldiers who fought in the First Contact War. People talked about him as if he were the boogeyman.

"What are we going to do about him?" Shepard asked. "Keep him locked up here forever?"

"I know that'd be my choice," Johns replied, shifting to face her.

Fry eyed Riddick then looked at Johns. "Is he really that dangerous?"

He smirked. "Only around humans."

Fry shook her head and sighed. "Great." Nudging Shepard, she said, "Come on, we need to find something to drink."

"More like we need to find something to breathe," she corrected, still finding it difficult to take a full breath.

"Shazza's working on that," she assured her and led her to one of the more intact cabins of the ship that was several feet away. Handing her an extra flashlight, she instructed, "Look for food, water, anything that'll help."

Shepard nodded, happy to finally have something concrete to do, and started digging around through luggage and boxes.

One bag in particular that she searched for was her own, a worn leather backpack that had belonged to Brian. It contained all that she had left from her home on Mindoir. Her heart nearly skipped a beat when she found it amongst the mess and she eagerly opened it, searching for her prized possessions, and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that everything was there – some clothes, a necklace with her parents' wedding rings, a bottle of perfume her mother always wore, her father's beloved combat knife that had belonged to his father, an old fashioned book with dried flowers that were native only to Mindoir pressed between the pages, and a photo album on a data-pad. It was all she had left of her family, of her home.

Sighing, she removed the necklace from the bag and clasped it around her neck, took the knife in its sheath and hooked it to her belt, and then wrapped the book, album, and perfume up in her clothes to keep them safe before putting them back in the back and hefting it onto her back and then continued her search.

Aside from clothes and random items, there was nothing useful that she could find. There were some knickknacks and trinkets, but there wasn't anything that she saw that would help any of them, though the clothes might come in handy in regards to shade. Upon tearing open a duffel bag, she was pleasantly surprised to find a fairly large bottle of water and some protein bars. She briefly wondered why someone would pack water and food when they were going to be traveling in cryo-sleep, but then she remembered seeing one guy board the ship in a panic, afraid of flying through space and how he'd rambled about having all sorts of things just in case they crashed. She'd thought he was overreacting, but it appeared that his fears were justified.

Picking up the bottle and protein bars, Shepard held them in her hands, testing their weight. She should tell the Captain about it so they could ration her find off to everyone, but she hesitated doing so, her thoughts going to Riddick. Johns didn't seem inclined to make Riddick comfortable, and she doubted anyone else would want to give him a drop of water or even a crumb.

With that in mind, she removed her backpack from her shoulders and stuffed the water down to the bottom of the bag along with the protein bars. She looked around as she buckled the bag shut, hoping she hadn't caught the attention of Fry, Johns, and Paris as they searched.

Slipping the straps over her shoulders, she headed over to the sarcophagus filled with alcohol that the three were examining.

Shifting from foot to foot, she said to the Captain, "I found some clothes over there, but not much else. Jack and I might be able to pin them together to make some shade or something if we decide to go looking for water. Think of it as a portable umbrella or a tent."

It was only a partial lie.

Fry seemed to buy it, and replied, "We're heading out shortly to look for water. Some shade would be nice. Talk to Shazza if you and Jack need any supplies."

"Kay," she said with a nodded and headed up the steps, walking past Imam and Ali.

She felt bad for not telling them about the water and protein bars but knew that it had to be done as it was unlikely Riddick any substance anytime soon.

Making her way back to the ship, she looked around and spotted Jack with Shazza and Zeke working on some sort of devices. They were on the other side of the ship with their backs half towards her so they wouldn't even notice she was there if she was quiet. That would work in her favor seeing as she didn't want to find out what everyone would say if they found out she was heading off to give a murderer some water and food. It didn't much matter to her what they thought when she felt in her gut that it was the right thing to do, and she'd been raised to follow her gut feelings. Either way, she didn't want to get on their bad side since they'd be with each other for a while.

Walking into the ship, she set her backpack down on the floor and dug through it. Removing the water, she helped herself to one small sip. The cool water soothed her dry throat and she was tempted to down the whole thing but stopped at one sip, screwing the lid back on. It wasn't for her, it was for Riddick, as was one of the protein bars.

Shepard rose to her feet and headed over to Riddick, thinking over how she was going to get that bit off of him so he could take a drink. The thing hadn't looked too complicate.

Half way to him, she looked up and damn near dropped the water, coming to an abrupt halt as her heart started racing. In front of her was the broken beam, but there was no Riddick chained to it. How he could have escaped was beyond her – he'd looked perfectly secure with his arms behind his back – but he was gone.

She had to find Johns immediately, had to tell him that Riddick was loose.

Turning on her heel, she spun around to dart out of the cabin, only to find her path blocked by a tall, muscular body.

Before Shepard had a chance to scream or even comprehend what was happening, Riddick clasped his hand over her mouth and shoved her roughly into the debris littered wall beside the exit.

Pain erupted in her back, loose metal cutting into her skin and causing blood to trickle from the wounds, but the pain came in second place to the fear she was feeling. Riddick took up every portion of her mind. He'd shed his blindfold and now sported a pair of black goggles. It was terrifying not to see his eyes, making it impossible to read them, but no matter what she was determined not to show fear and met his eyes through the goggles. Admitting fear was one thing, showing it was another. Showing her fear hadn't done any good on Mindoir. All it had done was aided in getting her lips sliced in her panic and had almost gotten her raped by a batarian who had cornered her a few hours after the nightmare began.

As if sensing the sudden change in her attitude, Riddick cocked his head to the side as though examining her. "You afraid?" he asked quietly, his low tone sending a frightened shiver up her spine.

Unable to speak because of his hand firmly clasped over her mouth, she nodded as best as she could.

"You don't look it," he replied almost to himself. He sounded almost fascinated.

With total disregard for her personal space, Riddick leaned towards her neck, running his nose along her sensitive skin almost sensually, and she heard him breathe deep as he smelled her. It was by far one of the strangest things that had happened to her.

Did she smell bad or something? She knew she probably didn't smell great given the current predicament, but still.

He sighed almost dreamily.

Despite her suppressed fear, she found herself growing irritated with the pain in her back, him keeping her neck bent back awkwardly so he could breathe against her neck, and at having her personal space intruded upon.

Knowing the action could leave her with a snapped neck, Shepard shoved the bottle of water to his chest, trying to turn his attention elsewhere. He didn't budge when she pushed him, but it did take his attention away from her herself channeled it to the bottle of water.

"What, it's poisoned?" he questioned, looking at it then back at her.

She moved her head around and he took the hint. Slowly, he removed his hand from her mouth.

"I thought you might be thirsty, so it's for you. Not that you deserve it," she snapped, voice trembling. "I sincerely doubt that you'll get anything to drink from the others."

Surprise flickered over his face but was gone just as quick as it had appeared. She suspected that he thought she'd scream or something rather than offer some of the precious water.

Taking the bottle from her, he backed a foot away from her, giving her back some of her space as he chugged down some of the water.

For a moment, Shepard forgot the danger she was in and began to relax until his hidden eyes turned to her and she tensed up again. He looked her up and down like she was a complete mystery – or prey – and slowly approached her. To her credit, Shepard held her ground, though her heart began to pound within her chest.

A smirk came to the con's face and came to a stop directly in front of her. He then reached out his hand towards her hip and she felt fear grab a hold of her heart as the memory of what the batarian tried to do to her came to her mind's eyes. But rather than grab her or make a move to her assault her, he unhooked the buckle the kept her knife in its sheath and removed it. After looking it over for a moment, appraising it, he walked past her and out the opening in the cabin.

Stunned into silence, Shepard slid down the rough wall to the ground, letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She'd survived her first encounter with Riddick, and all he'd wanted was her knife. That there contradicted everything she'd heard about the supposedly ruthless killer who killed when any opportunity was presented. People made it sound like he'd kill anyone just for the sake of doing it, but she was still breathing. He could have killed her just then and taken what he wanted off her corpse, and nobody would have known until they came looking for her. For all he knew, she could have screamed, and he should know that she was going to tell Johns that he was gone.

But Karla Shepard was alive and, for the most part, unharmed, though her nerves were rattled.

Could there be the possibility that the rumors and stories about Riddick were just a bit over exaggerated?

Somehow, Shepard felt that made him all the more dangerous.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **_**I'm not a review junkie and will continue posting chapters (subscriptions to favorites and follows is awesome!), but it would be nice to have some input. If you have any questions about what's going on, ideas, suggestions, please feel free to let me know. I want to know what you all think.**_

_**One more thing, there is a small portion of this chapter that briefly discusses religions and how they fit into the Mass Effect universe (In the books, it's stated that various religions have had trouble dealing with the discovery of the Prothean artifacts on Mars and aliens, and have become fractured due to the discoveries). I apologize ahead of time in anything I write is offensive to anyone. That is not my intention; I am merely making a theory as to why some might keep their religion in the **_**Mass Effect**_** universe. I doubt anything I've written is offensive, but I figured I should just mention this ahead of time.  
**_

* * *

Not much surprised Riddick anymore, but that young woman whom he learned by listening to the others was named Shepard stood out in his head as a tempting mystery that he wanted to unravel.

She looked completely innocent with her dark blue eyes and light blond hair, almost angelic in appearance, but her scent was far from innocent. He'd smelled fear, but the type of fear he'd smelled was mild, worn down by the experience of a survivor of something terrible. She'd experienced some sort of fear that caused her to become tolerant to the fear he tended to invoke in people, humans and aliens alike. It was interesting and foreign and peeked his curiosity. He was so fascinated by her behavior towards him, a murderer, that he kept her in his sights as the group of survivors walked through a bone yard.

Much to his distaste, Shepard stayed close to Johns like he was some sort of protector. No doubt the merc had put up the act that he was some do-right cop and was trying to charm her into fucking him later on. By the looks of it, the young woman was falling for the bull-shit he was dishing out, though she probably didn't read too deep into his intentions.

Along with Shepard, the so called Captain, Carolyn Fry, also had the convict's interest. It was no wonder why Riddick liked Fry so much. After listening to her heart-to-heart with Johns when they all stopped to rest, he discovered that had it not been for her crew-pal she would have become a murderer like him. Why he was fascinated by her was not mystery.

Now he just had to figure out what made Shepard so damn interesting.

Stopping momentarily, Johns walked over to Fry and whispered something to her that Riddick couldn't hear.

The woman glanced at him and then nodded before she said to everyone, "Let's split up – see if we can find anything we can find any water."

Did they really expect to find any water in this graveyard of bone?

Fry may suspect they might, but he doubted seriously that Johns did. No, the merc was trying to lure him out by providing him with easy targets. Riddick wasn't stupid and was not going to fall for it, but he couldn't help but follow Shepard as she wandered away from Johns and the others.

Remaining hidden by various bones, he walked behind her silently. It would be so easy to cut her throat, and his hold on the girl's knife tightened in anticipation. She'd go down silently, painlessly, but killing her wasn't his intention. At least not right now. Right now, she was to interesting to kill.

She took a few hits of the breather she carried and he felt his lungs ache even more at the sight. _See. Want. Take._ That was something he lived by. After he chose to show himself, he'd take it from her.

A few seconds into following her away from the others, he noticed that her demeanor had changed and a note of caution was in her walk that forced him to slow his pursuit. Seeming to sense something was amiss, she began surveying every inch of where she walked. Then she took a sharp right and started heading farther away from the others, keeping her eyes straight ahead. It hit him that she was well aware that she was being followed and was either looking for a way back to the others or had another agenda planned in her head.

_Impressive_, he thought idly, following in the shadows.

Coming to a stop in a spot shaded by bones, she turned on her heel, looking back the way she came.

"Want to show yourself?" she demanded, eyes scanning the area. When he stayed hidden, she added with a tremor to her voice, "I know you're there."

An amused smile found its way to his face as she tried to sound tough. Her posture and appearance said she wasn't afraid, but her tone had a faint quiver to it that betrayed her.

Hesitantly, Shepard walked closer to one of the large skulls that led to a dead end and peered inside, clutching an antique dagger. Taking the opportunity, Riddick silently dropped from his cover in the boney crevice above, landing a few feet behind Shepard and blocking her exit.

Letting out an exasperated sigh, Shepard backed up. "I don't have time for this," she muttered irritably.

The moment she turned around she saw him and let out a surprised gasp. Her eyes darted from him to the way she came, then back to him, some of her composure slipping when she realized she was trapped.

"It's strange that you knew I was following you when most people wouldn't," he observed, relaxing with one hand resting on a bone while his other held the knife.

Shepard gave a nervous shrug. "Guess I'm smarter than I look."

"You're more experienced than you look," he corrected. "Can't help but wonder what exactly made you so aware of your surroundings."

"What happened is none of your business," she replied boldly despite her fear.

Riddick had to wonder if she was brave or stupid. Surely she was aware that he could kill her without alerting the others to the deed.

Taking a few steps closer to her, Shepard's grip on her dagger tightened but she held her ground, much to her credit, and didn't take her eyes off his.

_Smart girl_, he praised.

Nine times out of ten, the people he let live were the ones who weren't threatening, and the ones he respected were the ones who held their ground without being stupid about it. Even if the young woman ran though, he would have just knocked her out to keep her from alerting the others. If she attacked him with that dagger, however, he would gut her before she could land a scratch on him. But as she wasn't attacking him and wasn't very threatening, he let her keep her blood in her veins. By the way she was holding the dagger she was clearly aware that she was in danger and was poised to attack if she needed to, but she wasn't allowing him to intimidate her.

"You plan on killing me, or just staring at me?" she asked, looking down at what had originally been her knife.

At this, Riddick shrugged. "Don't feel like killing you right now."

"That 'right now' part really isn't all that comforting," she commented sourly.

"Wasn't meant to be."

Looking once again at the exit behind him, Shepard slowly made her way closer and made to walk around him but he grabbed her arm. Her hand holding the dagger rose just slightly but she didn't attack.

"You gonna tell the others you saw me?" he asked, tone changing to deathly seriously. He was an efficient killer, but with the low oxygen, bright suns, and number of survivors, he didn't want to chance a chase until he was more familiar with his surroundings.

Shepard thought about it then shook her head. "We're all trying to find a way off this planet. I'm pretty sure Johns knows you're in the area, but telling him that I saw you will cause us to waste time while he goes searching for you himself. It's pointless. That and I'd very much like to stay alive," she added, taking a long look at the knife he held.

Riddick regarded the young woman for a few long seconds, studying her. And then he released her arm, allowing her to pass him and return to the others.

Why he let her go was something he didn't have an answer for. The risk that she would yap was high, but his gut told him that she'd abide by what she said to him and wouldn't say anything. Trusting his gut and instincts had kept him alive so far, so he wasn't about to ignore it now.

* * *

Shepard's heart was still racing by the time she got back to the others. Though she'd put on a brave face in front of Riddick, she'd been scared out of her mind. It was one thing knowing that Riddick was around, but it was another thing entirely to having him in front of her and blocking her only exit. For a while there she'd sworn he was going to cut her throat. Instead he'd let her go after she said she wouldn't tell. There was no way he could tell if she'd been lying or not, but she hadn't been. She wouldn't tell. Maybe the heat had cooked her brain, but she didn't think it was necessary to tell anyone. If Johns found out that Riddick was so close he'd lose focus.

Not to mention, Riddick had done nothing more than scare her. If he'd tried to hurt her that would have been one thing, but he hadn't.

Sighing, she slowed her pace and leaned back against one of the large bones, taking a long hit from her breather. She needed to calm down.

"Shepard?" Imam called from somewhere in the distance.

Wiping the sweat from her face, Shepard walked towards the man's voice. "Over here," she said when she saw Imam's back.

Turning and squinting in the bright sunlight, Imam walked over. "Johns said it is time to get moving so I came to find you. What are doing so far away from everybody?"

For a moment, she considered telling him the truth. "Needed some space, you know? Sometimes a moment of privacy is a good thing."

"Yes, but you must remember that you are never truly alone. Allah is always with you, child."

Feeling a little uneasy, she said, "I'm not Muslim."

"He is with you all the same," said Imam with a fatherly smile.

She nodded, not entirely sure she believed that after the nightmare on Mindoir, and then asked, "If you don't mind me asking, how is it you still believe in God? I mean, whatever you want to call the higher power you believe in, a lot of the written texts of every religion were essentially disproved after finding the Prothean artifacts, the Relays, everything."

"Many have lost their faith since the great discovery of the Prothean artifacts and other life forms, yes. But there are those of us who still believe that Allah – God – exists," he explained. "Some – like myself – are still faithful to the doctrine and teachings of our religions. However, there are those of us who believe that Allah purposefully left out the existence of other races."

Shepard blinked. "So, you're suggesting that God didn't want us to know the truth?"

"Not exactly." Sighing, he motioned to a few boulders and the two took a seat. "The truth is always necessary and must be shared, child, but if revealed before others are ready to hear it, the consequences can be negative. If told before they are ready for the truth, whether the facts are there or not, people will react poorly, they will rebel, and they will shun those who seek to share the truth. Does this mean that one should not reveal what is true? Not at all, but sometimes portions of the truth must be postponed in order to avoid chaos. That is why I believe that humanity was not given the truth about aliens, the Protheans, and all else. Allah was protecting us from chaos."

Shepard nodded slowly, taking in what he was saying. "And what if the truth is so important that it has to be told?"

"Then it must be told," he answered after a moment. "But the one who speaks the truth to others who are not ready to hear it must be prepared for the consequences of revealing the truth."

It was difficult to believe that speaking the truth could cause so many problems, but she guessed it made a little sense. She certainly hoped that she was never in the position where she had to tell a truth that no one wanted to hear. That was one headache she didn't need.

"There you two are," said Fry, coming around some bones after taking a few puffs of her breather. "Johns is climbin' the wall and wants to get moving."

Shepard noticed that Fry was wearing Johns' hat, and a pang of jealousy struck her in the chest, but only briefly.

"Then I suppose we should return to the group," Imam replied, rising to his feet. "This is quite the journey the boys and I have found ourselves a part of."

"Where were you and the kids heading?" Fry asked, walking on his left while Shepard walking at his right.

"To New Mecca."

"New Mecca?" the Captain repeated, frowning. "As in the settlement on Elysium?"

He nodded.

Elysium held humanities oldest colonies with a few towns and larger settlements spread out over the planet. One major settlement was New Mecca. All were welcome, but a majority of those who inhabited New Mecca were Muslim.

Shepard heard that the settlement was quite beautiful, one of the largest settlements apart from humanities central colony, and very welcoming. However, the _Hunter Gratzner_ had been heading to Earth, not Elysium.

Thinking the same thing, Fry asked, "Why take the _Hunter Gratzner_? We were heading to Earth, not Elysium. A few ships at the dock were headin' that way and could've gotten you there faster."

"Once in everyone's lifetime, should there be a great hajj, a great pilgrimage. Taking a ship directly to New Mecca would have defeated the purpose of the journey," Imam explained. "The hajj is to get to know Allah better, yes, but to get to know ourselves as well."

Fry swallowed then nodded. "Right."

Placing his hand on her shoulder, he added, looking from Fry to Shepard, "We are all on the same haji now."

Finding their way back through the maze of bones, Shepard spotted the others and noticed that no one was carrying anything new.

"Was there any water?" Shepard asked, already knowing the answer.

The older woman shook her head. "Not a drop." Staring at the dried up land and bones, she added, "I'm starting to think this whole damn planet's dead."

"You're not the only one," Shepard replied. She wouldn't be surprised if they were the only living things on the world after seeing so many bones. "How are we going to get off this planet?" she asked quietly, looking to Fry with questioning blue eyes.

Gaze faltering slightly, Fry answered, "I really don't know. But there's gotta be a way outta here. I don't know – we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Besides, if we don't find water it won't matter if there's a way off planet."

Even the mention of water made Shepard realize just how dry her mouth was and she tightened her hold on her backpack. She had protein bars, but Riddick had taken the water she'd given him – while she wouldn't starve, she might die of thirst. Maybe the animals here died because the water ran dry. Dying of dehydration didn't sound like a pleasant way to go. There had to be better ways to die.

"All right everyone," Johns said, getting everybody's attention once they were all together. "Time to get movin'. C'mon."

As they pushed on, Shepard found herself to be a little confused and looked back and forth between Johns and Fry. Who exactly was in charge? Fry seemed like the most likely candidate for group leader, being the Captain and all which caused people to listen to her, but Johns seemed to fit the part as leader as well since he was a cop and was already taking charge. She really didn't know who to follow so she just went with the flow, or tried to anyways.

Minutes felt like hours, but at some point they came to what may have once been a riverbed of some kind. So there had been water once. That was both relieving and discouraging – relieving in the fact that there may have been water once, but discouraging because it wasn't there anymore.

The Muslim kids darted off ahead and Shepard followed after them, taking up the role of babysitter. They seemed to be more at ease with the situation than anybody else. A few times she caught them playing tag or trying to head off and explore. The smallest of the boys, Ali, seemed to be the most curious and everything from strange rocks to chipped bones caught his attention.

Proving the fact that he was curious, Ali suddenly broke away from his friends and knelt next to something on the ground, saying something in Arabic.

"What is it?" Shepard asked, coming up to him and taking a look at what he held in his hands. Her eyes widened in astonishment. It was a toy robot! Looking to the oldest boy, she instructed, "Go get the Captain!"

Whether he spoke English or not didn't matter because he knew that Fry was called Captain and hurried to get her.

A moment later Fry was by her side examining the dirty toy. Upon wiping the dirt from the things head, they realized it was solar as it reacted to the sunlight. "There's gotta be people around here," she murmured to herself.

With new-found hope, they went in search of the toy's home.

* * *

Sitting in the shade, Shepard felt sorely disappointed.

They'd found the toy's home all right, but it was devoid of life, not a soul in sight.

On the bright side there was a mechanism for getting water out of the ground that Imam and a few others were trying to get to work, and to top it all off there was a skiff. She held a small amount of hope that they might soon have something to drink and be able to leave.

Shepard itched to help in some way, knowing a thing or two about fixing machinery, but she had been "ordered" by Fry to stay in the shade.

On the way to the settlement she'd begun to shiver despite the heat, feeling the early symptoms of heatstroke. So as not to make matters worse, Fry had her sitting in a shaded area to cool down for a while. Sitting was boring but she knew better than to tempt her luck with heatstroke even though she was feeling much better.

Somewhere in the distance she heard a few bangs of some sort and frowned, unsure if it was the heat playing with her head or not. She got her answer when she saw Johns, Fry, Imam, and the boys walk past her.

Getting to her feet, Shepard trotted after them. "What's going on?"

"Gunshots," Fry answered shortly, hurrying to catch up with Johns.

Despite their protests that she should stay where she was in the shade, Shepard raced after them.

* * *

Ever since breaking away from the group in the bone yard Riddick had watched Zeke, waiting for the right time to make his move and take the precious breather.

Having opted not to take Shepard's, he back tracked to the ship to relieve one of the others of their breather. The kid could keep his breather, so could the woman since she was near the boy. That left the rich guy and the grave digger. Since the risk of being caught attacking the rich one was too great, he'd decided to take the digger's breather. Gripping his knife tightly, he waited just out of sight for the right moment to strike, watching Zeke as he returned to the grave with the corpse of the man he'd just killed by accident.

Just as Zeke reached the grave, he suddenly froze after pulling away the tarp, staring into the grave with a confused frown. Removing the flashlight from his belt, he jumped into the hole to investigate whatever it was that caught his attention.

Deciding the time was now, Riddick stalked towards the grave to claim the breather he so desperately wanted.

And then the man screamed in agony and gunfire erupted from the grave.

Stopping dead in his tracks, Riddick's demeanor changed and approached with caution, in no hurry to aid the man being attacked by whatever was in the grave but curious to see what was happening. Reaching the edge, he knelt down, resting his arm wielding his knife on his knee. All he could see of the man was his legs sticking out of a hole inside the grave as he kicked and screamed, blood and flesh coating the area around the body. From within the dark hole came a strange clicking sound, followed by a loud crack as blood gushed out of Zeke's before he twitched and fell limp. A second later, Zeke's body was dragged into the hole and out of sight by an unseen creature.

_So, I'm not the only monster around_.

The scent of freshly blood reached Riddick and he took a deep breath. Ever since he could remember, he'd been able to smell the things in the air that went unnoticed by normal people. The coppery, salty scent of blood held a different scent if the kill was quick and clean compared to frightening the victim first, fear released certain scents that he was able to detect in the air, and everyone smelled uniquely different. Along with his strong sense of smell, all of his other senses were abnormally heightened, as was his strength, agility, stamina, and the like. It was something he couldn't explain and didn't give a damn about anymore. When he was a kid it bothered him, but now it made him an efficient killer and helped him survive.

"Zeke!" a woman cried, and Riddick looked up to find a woman running towards the grave, oblivious to his presence.

Ungracefully falling to the ground at the edge of the grave, she yanked away the tarp and paled at the sight bloody strands of flesh sticking to the entrance of the hole and blood splattered everywhere.

"Zeke!" the woman shouted again, but then she stiffened.

Realization that she wasn't alone hit her and her head snapped up, meeting Riddick's goggled eye as she froze in terror.

Rising calmly to his feet, Riddick turned and took off in the other direction as fast as his legs could carry him. He should have killed her but he didn't simply because he didn't want to find out if whatever was in that hole was hungry for seconds. While he wasn't afraid of it, he wasn't about to risk getting attacked by something he knew nothing about. Whatever was in there was deadly. Until he knew more about it, he was staying away from it.

Staring straight ahead, he ran towards the grave yard, hoping to get to cover before the woman and her two companions decided to come after him.

Half way through the dense field of pinnacles, Riddick was hit by a surprise attack. Johns lashed out from behind a large pinnacle and hit Riddick hard in the ankles with his baton.

Riddick fell to ground, his balance lost after the painful blow. As he started getting up Johns kicked him in the side, knocking what little air he had in his lungs away and forcing him back to the ground. Flipping onto his back, the convict grabbed the end of the baton before he could be struck again. The two struggled with the weapon until Johns managed to get a hold of Riddick's goggles and yanked them from his head, tossing them out of reach.

Blinded by the immense brightness, Riddick was made completely helpless and failed to dodge a fist to his face. He fell back to the ground, but rather than bringing his hand to his throbbing nose, he covered his eyes in pain, feeling as though someone had tossed a lit match into his eyes. His unnatural vision allowed him to thrive in the darkness, but unless he was wearing goggles or sunglasses of some kind he was completely vulnerable in the daylight.

Unable to see well enough to fight, he settled on avoiding the merc's punches and strikes with the baton to the best of his abilities. The pain in his head from the light mixed with the pain from being hit and kicked and lack of sufficient air made his head spin to the point where he had to fight just to stay conscious.

"Stop it!" someone shouted. "That's enough! He's down!"

It took Riddick a second, but he soon realized that it was Shepard who was shouting at Johns and through squinted eyes he saw her attempting to push Johns away but the petite young woman was easily overpowered and shoved back by the merc.

Rolling to the side to avoid a swipe from the baton, Riddick found the woman who rushed to her friend's aid standing over him menacingly.

"What did you do to Zeke?" the enraged woman demand, smashing her fist into his face. "What did you do to him?!"

"Shazza!" Fry yelled, grabbing the other woman and struggling to pull her back with the help of Shepard. "Shazza, enough!"

Fighting to get out of their grasp, Shazza hissed, "Just kill 'im! Just somebody goddamn kill 'im before he…" Without finishing the sentence, she screamed and planted a solid kick to his head, sending Riddick into darkness.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **_**Sorry about the delay. I just adopted two young ferrets so my time has been torn between caring for them and making sure they don't get into trouble, and house-work.**_

* * *

For the past half hour Shepard and everyone else had been sitting in a shaded spot near the ship discussing what to do with Riddick.

The convict was restrained in the interior of the ship, bruised and likely sore, but conscious the last time they checked. Johns had attempted to get the truth out of him but all Riddick told him was that he heard something in the hole before he stopped talking altogether. It wouldn't have mattered if the convict claimed that he didn't kill Zeke – everyone had already passed judgment on him, especially Shazza.

"I say we leave the bastard here to rot," Shazza said through her teeth, tapping her foot angrily.

"How about an option that doesn't involve killing someone?" Shepard asked, staring at the ground.

"Ever heard the saying 'an eye for an eye'?"

"Ever heard of 'innocent until proven guilty'?" Shepard countered, raising her eyes to Shazza.

"Innocent?" Johns echoed in astonishment. "You think that fucker's innocent?"

"Yes, no, I don't know," she sighed.

"You sure you ain't just stickin' up for him because he only took your knife and didn't kill you?" asked Johns, indicating to her father's knife that was back in its sheath at her hip, the knife everyone thought Riddick used to kill Zeke. "Think you owe him or something?"

All eyes turned to her and Shepard shifted nervously, wondering if maybe she should have just kept her mouth shut. Being put on the spot wasn't what she had intended and she certainly wasn't comfortable with being stared at.

"Well?" Johns prompted, crossing his arms.

Licking her suddenly dry lips, she explained, "I don't think I owe him anything, but there was blood all over the grave and in that hole. Riddick didn't have a drop of blood on him."

"So he cleaned himself up," Johns sighed, unwilling to accept that Riddick was innocent.

Fry stepped over to Shepard, placing her hand on her shoulder before she looked at the cop. "With what? There's no water around. Hate to say it, but I agree with Shepard. I'm not so sure he killed Zeke."

Shazza blinked rapidly and bit out, "Un-fucking-believable."

Rising to her feet, the Australian woman stormed away from them.

Shaking her head, Shepard rubbed her tired eyes. She didn't want to get on Shazza's bad side, but it just didn't add up. If Riddick was the killer he would have had at least some blood on him. When she, her brother, and father skinned an animal after going hunting, she always got at least a small blood stain on her clothes. Riddick, however, didn't have a drop on him and with the mess in the grave he should have been covered head to toe in gore.

At least Fry agreed with her, that was something. But it would take proof to make the others believe that the murderer was innocent, so to speak.

Walking away from the others as they started bickering with each other, Shepard quietly made her way to section of the ship where Riddick was chained up.

She wanted answers.

Taking a steadying breath, she stepped into the compartment and found Riddick in the same position he'd been in the last time they'd checked on him, arms stretched out by the chains and seated in a corner.

For a moment she just stood several feet from him, staring at him while she tried to get the nerve to speak.

He sat motionless as though he hadn't heard her enter, but she knew better.

Finding her voice after a few long seconds, she said, "Everyone thinks you killed Zeke."

Riddick inclined his head ever so slightly in her direction.

"I'm going out on a limb here, but unless you're the galaxies best cleaner I'm guessing you didn't do it." When he said nothing, she sighed and added, "Johns said that you told him you heard something, but no one believes you. If you don't throw me a bone, chances are you'll be left here to die."

The silence dragged on until her patience wore thin.

"Just tell me what the hell you heard," she begged, hating the pleading edge to her voice. The thought of someone being left to die for something they didn't do did not sit well with her, even if the guy on the chopping block was a known murderer.

Frustrated with the silent treatment she was receiving, she walked over to some rubble and took a seat, yanking out the band holding her hair back before resting her head in her hands, allowing her hair fell around her like a curtain, hiding her face.

"Whispers," Riddick said at last, his own voice hardly above a whisper.

Bringing her eyes to his face, shocked that he'd spoken, she repeated, "Whispers?"

He nodded.

After waiting a few seconds, she asked, "What'd they say?"

"Told me to go for the sweet spot just to the left of the spine, forth lumbar down, the abdominal aorta," he said softly, eyes closed. "Caught a spill with a cup on this guy's belt once. It's a metallic taste, human blood – copperish. But if you cut it with peppermint schnapps it goes away." Smirking, he added, "That's more for winter, though. Summertime calls for a different flavor."

She got the distinct feeling that he was yanking her chain, but the visual and taste description he gave her made her nauseous and she grit her teeth. "That's disgusting."

Riddick gave a low chuckle. "Squeamish?"

"I'm not in the mood for games, Riddick," she snapped. "What happened at the grave?"

Sighing, Riddick shook his head. "All you people are so scared of me. Even you. Most days, I'd take that as a compliment. But it ain't me you gotta worry about."

That left one important question, and she asked quietly, "If you didn't kill Zeke, what did?"

"Don't know," he admitted. "Didn't get a good look at it. Even with the goggles the sunlight and I don't get along."

Thinking back, Shepard recalled how he'd acted almost helpless after Johns ripped the goggles from his head. It was like the light hurt him or something.

"What do you're eyes look like?" she asked before she could stop herself.

A slight smile played at his lips. "Used to be brown. If you wanna see what they look like now, you'll have to come over here."

Her past history in Mindoir warned her not to get any closer to him, that even chained up he was a great threat, but her curiosity got the better of her and she slowly inched forward a few feet before stopping. Riddick was strong and the definition of danger. Though he looked harmless all chained up and hadn't made an attempt to kill her since first speaking to her, she didn't want to get too close.

"Contrary to popular belief, I don't bite," Riddick stated in amusement when she stopped walking. "You wanna see my eyes you'll have to come closer."

Crossing her arms over her chest out of nervousness, she took a few steps closer. He sighed when she stopped, and she took the hint and continued walking towards him until she was only a few feet away. Biting her lip, she took a few final steps until she stood directly in front of him, feeling way too close.

"Now can I see you're eyes?" she questioned, hoping the nervous quiver in her voice went unnoticed.

He didn't answer but he did turn his head up towards her. She assumed he would open his eyes, but she was wrong, so very wrong.

With the speed of a snake, Riddick lunged out with his legs, locking them around her own and bringing her intimately close.

Pressing her hands against his muscular chest, Shepard tried to push away from him, tried to pry his legs apart so she get back away, but found herself to be stuck and began to panic. With her heart hammering in her chest and fear gripping her heart with a tight fist, she looked at his face with the intent on begging him to let her go, but rather than plead, she stopped fighting the moment her blue eyes met his luminous black eyes.

They shone like polished black pearls and were unlike any eyes she'd seen before. Despite herself, she found herself becoming lost in them.

_The eyes the perfect predator_, she thought to herself, unmoving. Had other women found themselves in similar positions? He was dangerously attractive and muscular with eyes that were damn near hypnotic. As deadly as he was, any woman would be a fool not to be drawn to him.

"Cat got your tongue?" Riddick question with a knowing smirk, bringing her back to reality.

Pursing her lips, she demanded tightly, "Let me go."

"Or what?" he challenged with a sly smile. "You'll scream? Didn't peg you for a screamer."

She blushed madly and tried again to pull herself free of him when she realized that his eyes were no longer on her. Snapping her head back, she found Jack staring at Riddick in awe.

"How the hell can I get eyes like that?" the girl asked.

"You gotta kill a few people," the convict replied.

Jack nodded fervently. "Did that, what next?"

Shepard paled and stared at her in disbelief.

Jack had killed people? But… she was just a _kid_. While she was surprised, Riddick was the exact opposite. It was like he already knew.

Turning his luminous eyes back to Shepard, he went on, "Then you gotta get sent to a slam where they tell you you'll never see daylight again. You dig up a doctor and you pay him twenty menthol Kools to do a surgical shine job on your eyeballs."

A disturbing smile found its way to Jack's face. "So you can see who's sneakin' up on you in the dark?"

Riddick smiled at the girl. "Exactly."

Shepard was about to say something when a fourth person joined them. "Leave, Jack," Fry snapped. At the girl's expression, she softened her voice and repeated, "Leave."

Grumbling, Jack picked up her weapon and stomped up the steps.

"Cute kid," Riddick observed with a half smile.

"Stay away from him," Shepard bit out.

Stepping towards them, Fry eyed Riddick sharply. "Let her go."

With an unconcerned smile, the man sat back and released her.

Backing away quickly, Shepard went to stand next to Fry, ignoring the scolding look the woman sent her.

"Did I kill a few people?" Riddick asked himself out loud. Shrugging, he answered, "Sure. Did I kill Zeke?" For a few tense seconds, he said nothing. "No. You got the wrong killer."

"He's not in the hole," Fry stated. "We looked."

"Look deeper."

* * *

Standing at the hole, Shepard was starting to have second thoughts about the plan.

Wanting to turn theories into facts, Fry announced that she was going to go into the hole and see if she could find Zeke and whatever took him. It sounded good in theory, but now Shepard was concerned that whatever got Zeke would get Fry. Everyone else was concerned as well, except for Johns and Shazza.

Shazza was unwilling to believe that Riddick hadn't killed her friend, while Johns was angry that no one was listening to what he had to say.

"This is a waste of time," he complained at the edge of the grave.

Fry sighed. "It won't hurt to be sure."

"There's no need to be sure! Big Evil loves puttin' the fear in people just as much as he loves stabbin' them."

Ignoring him, Fry started for the dark hole in the grave.

Stepping forward, Shepard stopped her and said, "I'm not agreeing with Johns, but I'm not sure going in there is such a good idea. I mean, if Riddick's telling the truth…"

She let the rest go unsaid.

"I'll be fine," she assured her with a small smile. Raising the cord she had attached to her belt, she added, "If I run into any trouble I'll give this a good pull, okay?"

Reluctantly, Shepard nodded and stepped back, watching as Fry crawled into the hole.

Running her hand through her hair and pulling it back up into a ponytail, she went over to Jack. They needed to have a chat, and since no one was paying attention to her it was the perfect time.

Pulling her off to the side, Shepard asked, "Have you honestly killed people, or were you just trying to impress Riddick?"

Jack looked at the ground for a moment before shrugging. "Back at the place I grew up we got to fight once in a while. I'd get injected with all kinds of drugs to give me good feelings as long as I killed whoever I was fighting. Got fun after a while. When I was escaping I had to take out some people along the way. It was them or me… and I'd kill them again if I had the chance."

Shepard shook her head. "Jesus, Jack, you should've told me."

"Didn't wanna risk you leaving me behind. You wouldn't have bought me a ticket if you knew."

"Not if you explained it to me," Shepard argued.

Jack huffed. "Yeah, right."

"Just… just be honest with me from now on, all right? Please?" Shepard pleaded.

After a second or two Jack sighed and nodded.

Affectionately, Shepard hooked her arm around the girl's shoulders and pulled her into a half hug. Jack grumbled in complaint but leaned into her anyways. All the girl needed was someone to give a damn about her. If she was around someone who cared, Jack would be okay.

Movement caught her eye and Shepard saw Imam step closer to the hole.

"What?" Johns questioned, bored.

"I thought I heard something," Imam replied, not backing away from the hole.

All of them listened for something out of place and moved closer to the grave, but no one heard anything.

Suddenly, Jack looked around and started walking off. "You hear that?" she asked, her walk turning into a jog.

"Hear what?" Shazza asked, running after her with the others close behind. "There's nothing comin' from the hole."

"It's not coming from the hole!" Jack insisted, jog becoming a run.

As they drew closer to the pinnacles they all began to hear something. It wasn't long before they realized that it was Fry crying out for help.

Scrambling, adrenaline pumping through their veins, they searched each pinnacle, trying to find the one the Captain's cries were coming from. There were so many of them!

Rushing towards Fry's screams, Shepard pressed her ear to each funnel, panicking whenever she heard nothing. Whatever was beneath the ground had Fry scared and calling out for help. If they didn't find her, she feared that the Captain would share Zeke's fate. Coming to a funnel farther away she finally heard Fry's screams for help with near perfect clarity.

"Here!" Shepard yelled, trying to break through the pinnacle with the butt of her knife.

"Get back!" Johns shouted, shoving her to the side before swinging the small shovel at the pinnacle like a bat, breaking through it.

Making a big enough opening, Johns and Imam reached inside. Not a second later they pulled out Fry.

Unable to walk on her own, the two men pulled her to safety several feet from the pinnacle.

"I heard you Fry!" Jack declared proudly. "I heard you first!"

"Come on, come on," Johns muttered, lowering a very shaken Fry to the ground. "We got you."

Jack asked worriedly, "Are you okay? What's down there? What is it?"

"Give her some room," Shepard told everyone, but no one listened.

Shazza got in Fry's face. "Did you find Zeke?"

"You're all right," Paris assured the Captain.

"Fry, are you okay?" Jack repeated.

"Will you all just back up?" Shepard demanded.

"Is Zeke down there?" Shazza asked again desperately, tuning Shepard out.

Fry hit the ground with her fist, silencing everyone with her outburst.

"Fuck!" she yelled. "That was so fucking stupid!" Taking a few hits of air from an offered breather, she continued breathlessly, "I don't know what the fuck is in there, but whatever it is got Zeke and it nearly got _me_!" On the last word Fry was suddenly yanked back with enough force to push the air from her lungs and dragged toward the pinnacle she'd just come out of by the cord still attached to her.

Reaching her before she fell back into the cave, Johns grabbed her around the waist and she held onto him for dear life as whatever had her tried to pull her back in, starting a horrific game of tug-of-war.

Unwilling to let their friend meet the same fate as Zeke, Shepard and Jack grabbed a hold of Fry's belt and pulled, digging their feet into the ground.

"Get it off me!" Fry screamed, yelping when whatever held the cord gave a sharp yank that nearly pulled her inside the pinnacle. "_Get it off me!_"

"Imam, grab the cord!" Johns ordered and the man did so without question.

"Get it off me!"

Just as Fry was about to be pulled back in completely, Johns pulled a knife from his belt and cut the cord.

Backing away from the pinnacle for fear that something would jump out, they stood in silence and waited for the creature to make an appearance, to attempt to claim Fry as its dinner. But there was only silence, save for the heavy breathing, and nothing rose from the pinnacle.

When it was clear that they were safe for now, Shepard spoke up first, glaring at Johns. "Still think Riddick killed Zeke?"

Without waiting for an answer, Shepard put her arm around Fry's shoulders and led the shaken woman back to the safety of the ship.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


	5. Chapter 5

There weren't many things alive that Riddick admitted were more dangerous than he was, but whatever was on the planet with them claimed the title of resident monster.

After returning from exploring the hole, Johns saw fit to cut him loose, shooting the lead chain that held his arms up with the promise of letting him go free after they got off world. Riddick didn't believe the merc for one second, but Johns didn't need to know that just yet. For now he would submit himself to being the merc's bitch.

Walking out of the ship that had been his holding cell, the convict pulled the goggles over his eyes, casting shadows over the world and making the light less irritating, and now that he could see more clearly the possibilities were endless.

As Johns hadn't told him to do anything yet, he took the time to stretch his legs. Muscles were cramped from sitting in the same position for such a long time and he was out of breath just from walking due to the low oxygen levels. But it would take more than that to take him down a notch.

Some of the survivors of the crash were gathering up supplies into bags and looked up when they saw him. Shazza bristled and diverted her eyes, taking a sudden interest in the tarp she was folding. The boy, Jack, looked over at him and made to walk over but Shazza grabbed his arm, preventing him from leaving. Riddick rolled his eyes behind his goggles. He'd done a lot of bad things, but as a personal rule he didn't hurt kids.

"Want to give me a hand?"

Turning around he found Shepard standing behind him, hands on her hips.

"With what?" he asked.

"Loading up the sled," she replied. "Those bags they're getting together are going on it but I've found some things that are too heavy for me to pick up." Inclining her head back towards the sled, she added, "C'mon."

Rather than protest, he complied and followed after her.

Working in silence, the two lifted a heavy crate and set it on the sled with an audible _thud_. They repeated the process with the next two crates of supplies that survived the crash, and all the while Riddick kept an eye on the young woman.

If he had to guess, he would say she'd once been a rancher or farmer, probably a colony kid. Despite the heat and lack of oxygen, she worked without a single complaint and wasn't weak. There were other traits that reminded him of farmers, ranchers, and the like, but there was something else about her that he couldn't figure out. Her entire demeanor since he first saw her screamed survivor, and not just survivor of the crash. No, she'd survived something else entirely.

Riddick was determined to find out what that was.

"How'd you get that scar?" he asked, lifting a crate onto the sled.

She tensed instantly, her fingers going to the scar over her lips. "Got cut with a knife," she answered after a moment's hesitation.

"And?"

"And…" she glanced up at him before sighing and leaning against the last crate. "It happened on Mindoir."

Now it all made sense.

"Heard only one colonist got away. A girl."

Shepard nodded but didn't offer anything else. It was interesting how she didn't add that her brother had also escaped, unless Jack wasn't really her brother.

When she made to leave and get some more supplies, Riddick stepped in front of her, blocking her path. "Strange how one young girl got away with little more than a scarred face when everyone else was taken or killed." The young woman looked away, finding the dirt beneath her boots suddenly very interesting. In that moment, he knew. "But you did some killing of your own, didn't you?"

She didn't answer right away but did look up at him. If looks could kill he was sure he'd been dead on the spot, her dark blue eyes turning to ice.

"Yeah," she said slowly, voice tight. "To get away, I had to kill a few batarians. Starting with the one who cut my lip and tried to rape me. I wasn't about to let him get that far so I took a piece of broken glass and stabbed him in the neck and face a few times before finding my Dad's knife and stabbing him a couple more times just in case. Now, if we're done with story time, I'd like to get back to work."

Holding her glare for a few more seconds, Riddick stepped to the side and let her pass, following her and helping her with the last of the supplies she'd rounded up.

Now he had a bit of a better grasp on what made her tick. Killing changed a person of any species, whether they be human or turian, asari or salarian. That was a fact he'd learned from lots of experience. Whatever kind of person she'd been on Mindoir, she wasn't now. That girl was gone, replaced by someone who had seen death and had ended lives. If she went down the right path – or the wrong path, depending on one's point of view – he could see her becoming just like him one day.

He wouldn't change who he was, but his life wasn't one he'd wish on anybody.

* * *

The trek back to the settlement was slow going with the lack of oxygen and the heat, along with the supplies they had to drag back, but they eventually arrived and set to work on repairing water recovery unit and the old skiff.

It wasn't that the skiff was busted, it was just old and the environment had been less than kind to it, and Fry, Johns, and Riddick were working on fixing it up.

As for the water unit, there was only some minor damage that needed fixing. Having spent a lot of time working on her family's farm repairing old machines with her brother, Shepard found that she could fix some of the problems with relative ease and hastily got to work on repairing the unit with Imam, two of the boys, and Paris helping her.

Having been a farmer did come with its perks.

"Hey," Johns called, walking over to her, Imam, and Paris. "Any of you know where Riddick went?" The men shook their heads in reply and Johns turned his eyes to Shepard. "How 'bout you, Shepard? You seen him?"

"Do I look like Riddick's keeper," Shepard asked, wiping the sweat from her forehead and frowning when some grease spread across her pale skin, tinged red from the sun. "I thought he was helping you and Fry?"

"I sent him to find something to patch up the skiff's wings, but he hasn't come back yet," Johns replied, staring at Shepard like she knew something when she knew nothing.

"I saw him walking in that direction a few minutes ago," Imam offered, pointing in the said direction and taking the attention off Shepard. "You may start by searching in that area."

With a slight nod, Johns went off in the direction indicated, much to Shepard's relief. She didn't mind Johns, was even attracted to him, but something about him just didn't sit right with her anymore. And talking to him about Riddick wasn't something she felt like doing.

Even thinking about Riddick made her want to pull her hair out. He was so damn irritating and she didn't appreciate being cornered for answers. Of course he hadn't actually had her backed up to a wall and cornered, but she may as well have been with how he kept blocking her path. Her history on Mindoir wasn't something she liked to share with anybody. Even her foster family and the therapist she'd been seeing didn't know all the details of her survival and that was how she wanted it. No one needed to know of the things she'd done to survive.

Her therapist had tried to get her to tell him what had happened on Mindoir, as had the foster family out of curiosity, but Shepard always reacted with unnecessary hostility. She taken her anger and sorrow out everyone until the foster family couldn't take it anymore and threatened to send her away. There was no denying that they meant it, and Shepard tried to act better but they just never saw eye to eye. They couldn't comprehend or even begin to understand what she'd gone through. That was why she left for Earth the day she turned eighteen. The foster family was all right, but she couldn't stay with them on the space station. She had to move on and make something of her life, and she knew just what she was going to do.

The Alliance had been a big part of her family ever since she could remember, her uncle having given his life during the First Contact War. Once the war ended, her family was visited regularly by Commander David Anderson, her uncle's best friend. He became a good friend of the family, and was with the patrol that found Shepard after the raid.

She already respected Alliance soldiers, but after Anderson and the rest of the patrol found her wandering around a few miles from the colony after receiving a distress call, her respect for the Alliance sky rocketed and she learned everything she could about the Alliance military. It didn't take long for her to decide that she wanted to join. Life was hard and brutal, and after what happened on Mindoir, she decided that she wanted to make a difference and see that nothing like that ever happened again. The galaxy was a dangerous place. If she could make it just a little safer, she would do so at all costs, and Anderson promised to help her succeed in the military as her mentor.

Turning her attention back to the task at hand, Shepard sat back on her heels, staring at the machine. It wasn't the best work she'd done, but at least it looked like it might start working again.

Noticing two of the boys who were with Imam – Hassan and Suleiman – watching her, she said, "You two stand by the faucet and see if anything comes out. I just have a few more tweaks to make."

Imam relayed her words to them in Arabic and they nodded, moving over to the faucet.

Tightening a valve, Shepard was pleased to find water filling the unit but was irritated when she didn't hear the sound of it pouring from the faucet. Eyeing the machine for a moment, she spotted one last problem.

Rather than searching for the right tool for the job, she sat down, hands braced behind her, and kicked the engine hard a few times. Sometimes brute force was the best way to go.

In response to her kicking, the filter inside sputtered to life, spinning rapidly. A few seconds later, Hassan and Suleiman excitedly said something in Arabic.

Coming around to the front, Shepard saw water steadily flowing from the faucet and Imam and the two boys holding their hands under it for a drink.

"All right, all right," Pairs said, pushing them out of the way with a smile and holding a pitcher under the faucet. "My turn."

Grinning, Shepard sat back, wiping her hands on her pants. That was one problem out of the way.

When that pitcher was full, she took it from Paris and handed him an empty one. Within minutes they were carrying their treasure inside to share with the others.

Rummaging around, Paris managed to find some crystal glasses and the boys went to call everyone in for a drink while Shepard filled each glass to the rim.

Everyone claimed a glass and found a place to sit and relax in the shade of the room. Everyone but Riddick, Johns, Jack, and the youngest pilgrim, Ali.

Fleetingly, Shepard wondered if she should go searching for them but just as she was about to get up and search Johns walked inside, followed by Riddick a moment later. That just left Jack and the little boy, but now she wasn't concerned. Jack had shown a liking for Riddick and Shepard suspected that she wasn't far behind. As for Ali, he seemed to like Jack so he'd likely be with her.

Raising his glass and his empty hand, Imam said something in Arabic and then switched back to English. "All praises be Allah, for his many blessings to us."

Respectfully, everyone raised their glasses before taking a long drink.

In all her life, Shepard had never drank anything that tasted as good as the water did now.

The door in the front opened and Jack came inside, walking over to Paris and picking up a glass. As she brought it to her lips, she froze. All eyes were on her, and for good reason.

To keep up the persona of being a boy, her hair had been cut short, but now it was completely shaved off and she wore makeshift goggles that resembled Riddick's. It looked like Jack had found another role model, and Shepard wasn't sure if Riddick was the best choice.

Looking over at him, she saw him staring at the girl for a moment before shaking his head in mild amusement and going to stand in the door frame.

Curious as to what they were looking at, Jack asked, "What?"

Smirking, Paris pointed at her with his thumb. "It's the winner of the look-alike contest."

They couldn't help but chuckle at that.

Noticing that the boy wasn't with her, Imam asked, "Where is Ali?"

"He was exploring last I saw," she replied, taking a seat between Shepard and Johns. "Should be coming."

Imam gave her a slight nod before going over to the window and looking for the young boy.

Finishing her water rather quickly, Shepard got up to refill her glass and became aware of eyes on her. Hesitantly looking up, she saw Riddick watching her with his shimmering black eyes and felt a chill go down her spine. He could be creepy when he wanted to be, but she couldn't say she was one hundred percent afraid of him, though she was still angry with him.

Casting her eyes back to the water, she did her best to ignore him and went back to sit beside Johns and Jack. Glancing up at Riddick one more time, she noticed the slight frown on his face. It seemed that he didn't like her sitting next to Johns so much.

Refilling his own glass, Paris said, "Perhaps we should toast our hosts. Who were these people anyways, miners?

Shazza shook her head, picking up a fist sized crystal. "I don't know. Looks like geologists. You know, an advance team, moves around from rock to rock."

"Nice of them to leave so much stuff here," Fry interrupted. Leaning against the table, she asked, "Why'd they leave their ship?"

It was a question no one had an answer for.

Looking around, Shepard noticed that there were books all over the place along with some other stuff like pictures and whatnot. It didn't make sense for that stuff to be left behind unless the people had to leave quickly. But if that were the case, why was the ship still there?

Dancing around the question, Johns corrected, "It's not a ship, it's a skiff. And it's disposable, really."

"It's more like an emergency life raft, right?" Paris asked, receiving a nod from Johns.

"Yeah," said Shazza, more to herself than to anyone else. "They probably had a big drop ship take 'em off planet."

"These people didn't leave. Come on," Riddick said suddenly, causing everyone to look his way. "Whatever got Zeke got them. They're all dead." Putting on his goggles, he looked at everyone. "You don't really think they left with their clothes on the hooks, photos on the shelves?"

Shepard's throat tightened and as much as she told herself that wasn't true, she dreaded that it was.

Shazza wasn't so ready to accept that. "Maybe they had weight limits. You don't know."

"I know you don't prep your emergency ship unless there's a fuckin' emergency."

Taking a sip from her water, Jack nodded. "He's fuckin' right."

Shepard elbowed Jack while Johns snapped, "Watch your mouth."

"Maybe they prepped it just in case a drop ship or Alliance rescue team couldn't get to them," Paris offered.

At that, Shepard shook her head. "I don't think so." When everyone looked to her, she explained, "We're on the outskirts of the galaxy, and from the looks of some of the documents I saw earlier the nearest Alliance outpost is in the next system. With that in mind, the people here likely knew that the Alliance wouldn't get here in time to help them so they prepped their ship, but something must have stopped them from leaving on it."

Giving her a doubtful look, Shazza asked, "And how would you know that?"

As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew that it might be better in the long run if they knew. "I was living on Mindoir when the batarians attacked. I was the only who survived and wasn't taken, along with Jack."

The room fell silent and Shazza looked at the ground while the others – aside from Riddick, Johns, and Jack – looked at her in shock.

Seeing that she now had everyone's attention, she continued, "I was already on the run, but someone from the colony sent out a distress signal. However, the Alliance outpost was over a day away on another planet so we all abandoned our possessions, regrouped with as many people as we could, and ran for our vehicles and ships. But the batarians managed to sabotage everything and set traps all over the place so we were all stuck with running and hiding. My point is that if the skiff had been prepped and ready to leave, then there's a reason for it and a reason it was left behind."

"Both you and Riddick need to stop with your theories," Johns warned.

"They're just sayin' what we're all thinking," Fry sighed. Looking between Shepard and Riddick, she asked, "So what happened? Where are they?"

Shepard could do nothing but shrug. She had a basic idea of what had happened, not the whole story, and she doubted Riddick knew either.

Before anyone could reply, Imam rushed over to them in a panic. "Has anyone seen the little one? Ali?"

They all shook their heads before looking at Jack.

"Don't look at me," she said quickly. "I dunno where he went. Like I said, he went exploring."

Staring at Jack a moment longer, Riddick asked, "Has anyone checked the coring room?"

In reply, a shrill scream sounded in the distance.

Everyone jumped to their feet immediately and were running out the door to the coring room.

Shepard wanted to throttle Jack for leaving the boy alone, but it was clear that the girl was just as worried as they all were so she'd save that talk for later if she did decide to give her a lecture. Now wasn't the time.

As they neared, the screams and cries of fear grew louder and louder until they ceased completely, sending icy dread into Shepard's heart.

Reaching the doors first, Johns gave them a strong yank but found it to be locked, chained from the inside. Standing back, he fired two shots before pushing the doors open with a little more caution.

Eager to find the young acolyte, Imam pushed past Johns. "Ali?"

Johns grabbed the other man's arm. "Slowly," he warned.

Upon seeing Jack try to slip inside to investigate, Shepard grasped her shoulder and held her back. Biotic or not, the girl didn't need to be in there.

"Ali?" Imam called again, searching for the missing boy. "Ali?"

A soft tapping filled the air, and peering around Johns, Shepard saw a door rattling slightly. She figured it was the boy and that he was shaking against the door, but what had caused him to scream and why wasn't he answering Imam?

Cautiously, Imam approached the shaking door. "Ali?" he asked, gripping the handle. Concerned for the boy's silence, he opened the door.

A mass of dark winged creatures burst out, knocking the Arab to the floor, and flew around like mad. And they were coming straight for them.

"Get back!" Johns shouted, pushing Shepard out the door and shutting it just as the creatures passed.

The screeching continued for another long minute until there was finally silence once again.

Slowly, Johns and the others stepped back inside the room.

"What the hell was that?" Shepard asked no one in particular, looking around to see if the little monsters were still there.

There was no sign of them.

"Imam?" Johns called, sweeping his shotgun all over the place just in case.

Fry stepped up next to him. "Imam?"

Suddenly there was a _thud_ and they heard Imam gasp in horror.

Hurrying towards their friend, Shepard felt nausea creep up and quickly grabbed Jack, covering the girl's eyes.

At Imam's feet were the mutilated remains of Ali.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **_**A few events will take place differently; Johns' morphine is replaced with red-sand, and so on. Just letting you all know in case you start wondering why things are different. Some of Riddick's history has been altered slightly in order to better fit with **_**Mass Effect**_**. Things in the **_**Mass Effect**_** universe won't be altered to fit with Riddick's world to any significant degree until I get to the point where I'm writing for **_**Mass Effect 2**_** and whatnot.**_

_**And I'm in need of some help, so if you'd like to give me a hand, continue reading the A/N...**_

_**I'd like to have everyone's opinion on something. In the **_**Riddick**_** universe, Riddick was nearly strangled to death with his umbilical cord by the Lord Marshal because he was a Furyan, and Furyans were basically wiped out by the Necromongers. I want to incorporate Furyans and the Furyan Massacre into the overall story and make it significant to the story eventually, but seeing as I don't plan to include the Necromongers, I'm not sure how to justify the race being virtually exterminated or how Riddick survived. I want the massacre to have some link to the Reapers, maybe the Collectors, but I'm not sure what that link should be. As for the Furyans, how should I explain their existence (are they humans who have evolved and adapted to life on Furya, as suggested in the **_**Riddick**_** universe, or should they be a humanoid/near-human race with no connections to Earth)? Please note that it's a long ways off before I'll go into real detail involving Furya and Furyans (that will probably come when I write a story set during one of the **_**Mass Effect**_** games) but I'd like to figure this out beforehand. So, if anyone has any ideas, feel free to share, I'm open to almost anything!**_

* * *

Even though Shepard knew that Jack had seen death after learning the girl had killed people, she had taken her back to the main structure shortly after discovering the Ali's corps. Though the girl complained about leaving, she didn't put up a fight. Shepard got the sense that despite Jack's tough exterior, she was secretly shaken by what had happened to her friend, maybe even felt guilty for leaving him alone.

Pouring two glasses of water, Shepard walked over to the couch and handed the girl a glass.

Jack took it without a word.

"You okay?" Shepard asked, sitting down beside her.

Nodding her head, Jack sipped the water. "Yeah, but…"

"But what?"

After a short pause, she said, "I think I should tell the others I'm a biotic."

"No, you shouldn't," Shepard said without hesitation. "We've talked about this."

"That was before we boarded," Jack pointed out. "Things are different now. Maybe I can help if there are more of those things!"

Shepard shook her head. "Jack, it's not a good idea."

"Why?"

"Because there aren't many biotic runaways out there that I've heard of, let alone ones on the run from some pro-human organization," Shepard said slowly, making sure she got her point across. "Johns is a cop, so I'm sure he's heard a thing or two about you. He or the others might figure out that you aren't a boy. Do you really want to risk them putting the pieces together and finding out who you are? Do you want to risk Cerberus finding you?"

Jack said nothing, just stared at her glass of water angrily. "Whatever," she grumbled at last, rising to sit somewhere else.

Sighing, Shepard closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

The girl made her glad she didn't have a younger sibling. That "whatever" business was annoying. Now she understood why her mother always chewed her out for saying "whatever" and walking away. At least she seemed to have gotten the message through to Jack, or she hoped so anyways. Shepard wasn't an idiot and knew that if Jack wanted to do something she would do it. Hopefully the threat of being found out would make her think twice about telling, if only for a while.

Interrupting her thoughts of concern was the door opening as everyone came rushing back inside, heading towards the office in the back.

Frowning, Shepard stood and followed, hurrying to catch up to Johns. "What's going on?"

Johns shrugged. "Fry's gone crazy, that's what's goin' on."

"I wish I were crazy," Fry snapped, going over to the planetary model of the system they were in, kneeling beside it. Ignoring the presence of those around her, she started turning the gears and it steadily clicked from year to year.

At first, Shepard had no idea what the point it all was. It was just another planetary model, a rather outdated one, but something that could be found throughout the galaxy with every intelligent race. It seemed silly that Fry was all worked up over the model, but as she continued to watch she saw the planets and suns getting closer and closer and more in sequence. In time with the motion of the plastic planets and suns, her stomach began to sink until finally everything stilled and she felt utterly nauseous.

A perfect planetary alignment and the planet they were on was cast in an eclipse. In what could be months, weeks, days, or even hours, the planet would be cast in darkness and become the perfect hunting ground for those creatures.

From the back of the room, Riddick asked with a knowing smile, "You're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

Shepard wasn't sure if he was talking to her or someone else so she didn't answer and neither did any of the others, though they did shoot Riddick a stare or two.

With the shock of the discovery wearing off, Fry briskly rose to her feet and looked at everyone. "All this means is that we gotta work like hell. I want everyone to find something their good at and get to work on it."

"I overheard Shazza talking about the sand-cat." Looking to the other woman, Shepard said, "Spent a fair share of time working with similar vehicles on Mindoir. Think you'll need a hand?"

Shazza shrugged. "Extra pair 'a hands couldn't hurt."

"I'll help too," Jack offered.

The Australian nodded with a half-smile, and Shepard was thankful for it. Jack needed something to do to keep her mind off yapping about her biotics.

"Good," Fry said. "Sooner we get that thing up and running the sooner we can get those cells. Anyone needs me, I'll be workin' on the skiff."

Frowning, Johns caught up with Fry as she walked out of the room, grabbing her arm and pulling her off to the side. As much as Shepard wanted to eavesdrop, there were things that had to be done.

Placing her hands on Jack's shoulders, she steered the girl out of the room and followed Shazza to the sand-cat.

She hadn't worked much with solar powered machines, but she knew the basics and then some about engines. Hell, if she'd wanted to go into a career involving engines she would probably end up doing very well, but fixing things was a hobby, nothing more. Plus fixing engines reminded her too much of her life on Mindoir. A life she wanted to forget, and becoming an engineer wouldn't help her forget what she'd gone through and the things she'd done to survive.

Walking into a shaded garage, they laid their eyes on the rundown vehicle.

Jack stared at it. "That's it?" she asked, lacking enthusiasm. "It's scrap metal."

"Looks ain't everythin' when it comes to machines, kido," Shazza commented, yanking the tarp off it.

"She's right, Jack," said Shepard, rummaging around for some tools. "Sometimes it's the most worn and beat up machine that'll get you farther."

Helping her with the search for tools, Shazza asked quietly, "You a farmer?"

Swallowing, Shepard nodded. "Yeah… or at least I was. I was born in Virginia, but my family jumped at the chance to be a part of the Mindoir colony, so we packed up and left Earth when I was two. I worked more with the machines than with anything else, always helping my dad do whatever needed to be done. My mom always called me my father's shadow. He taught me everything I know about… well, about everything."

"I'm sorry, Shepard," Shazza said, placing her hand on her shoulder and giving her a comforting squeeze.

Though the apology sounded sincere to Shepard, she'd long since grown tired of hearing it.

Forcing herself to remain casual, she said, "We should get to work on the sand-cat."

Sighing, Shazza released her shoulder and nodded. "See what you can do about that engine. Jack and I will work on the solar panels."

* * *

Making Johns uncomfortable was as good of a pass time as Riddick was going to get on the planet. The mixture of the high wearing off and the sight of Riddick with his new found shiv had sent Johns wobbling off for another dusting of red-sand. The convict had no doubt that Johns had a full supply of the drug. Where he kept it was a mystery, and normally he could care less about the merc's habit, but after hearing his and Fry's conversation about him, he decided that letting it slip to a few specific people that Johns was a junky might be beneficial.

Wiping the grease from his clean shaven head, Riddick searched for Johns, wanting to know exactly where he'd gone so he could avoid him, and found him hunched over a barrel with Shepard standing next to him wearing a look of concern, asking him something that he could hardly hear while her hand laid flat on his back.

Once again, Riddick found himself disappointed in the girl.

After all she'd been through he would have suspected that she'd be a bit more wary of others. The girl was too trusting and good natured for her own good. Then again, he couldn't blame her for buying Johns' act. His cop routine was convincing. But he got the feeling that once Shepard knew the truth her opinion of the merc would drop drastically.

Shaking his head at whatever Shepard asked, Johns said something that made her smile. Running his hand down her arm in what was probably meant to look like an assuring gesture but was most likely an attempt to lure her in, Johns walked away to one of the structures and went inside, likely to dust up.

Shepard stood there for a moment, watching Johns as he walked off before tightening her long ponytail and going to the room where the water was kept, telling Shazza and Jack that she'd be back in a minute or two as she walked by.

_Perfect._

Silently, Riddick followed her inside.

He found her leaning forward against the center table, pouring herself a glass of water. Her shoulders had gone from pale to pink with sunburn, just as everyone else's had, and must have hurt because she poured a little bit of the water over the burns, tensing as she did. Also, there were small cuts visible on her back where her thin strapped shirt didn't cover and what appeared to be dried blood on random spots of the fabric.

Picking through his memory, he remembered when he first crossed paths with her at the broken beam. To keep her from screaming, he'd covered her mouth and roughly shoved her into the shadows and against a wall. He must have done so with more force than he'd thought to have cut up her back. That hadn't been his intention, but he wouldn't say he was sorry. Obviously the girl could take some pain without make a fuss about it. He was willing to bet that she knew that showing fear or pain was pointless in the presence of others. That knowledge would help her stay alive in the galaxy, stay strong in whatever she did. But that brought up another question that had been nagging at him.

What was she doing on the _Hunter Gratzner_?

With her beauty, brains, and survival instincts he expected her to be in college, doing the good-girl routine and pleasing her family, not on a beaten down ship like the _Hunter Gratzner _with her brother. Then again, she probably didn't have any other family left after Mindoir, or perhaps the events of the slaver raid changed her priorities. But then where did the brother fit in? Was he even her brother? Riddick knew that that Shepard and Jack were hiding something, he just hadn't figured out what yet.

Deciding that he'd been silent long enough, he voiced one of his questions. "Why were you on the _Hunter Gratzner _with your brother?"

Shepard tensed and inclined her head slightly in his direction but didn't turn around. "Go away, Riddick. Let me drink my water in peace."

Instead of doing what she said, he walked up to her, coming to a stop a few inches behind her. "Not until you answer the question." Reaching around her, he boxed the petite girl in with his arms as he grabbed the pitcher of water and poured himself a glass.

"Guess 'personal space' means nothing to you," she muttered nervously, taking a small sip of her water and keeping her back to him. After a moment, she added reluctantly, "I was on my way to Earth to enlist in the Alliance."

The mention of the Alliance put a foul taste in Riddick's mouth.

"The Alliance isn't as honorable as you think it is, Karla," he said quietly, catching her attention with the use of her first name.

Glancing at him angrily over her shoulder, she asked, "And why should I believe you, Riddick? You're a murderer." Immediately after the words left her mouth, she tensed, no doubt expecting him to react badly towards what she said.

But instead of reacting with hostility, he bit out, "Because every murderer has a past, and this one use to be a Marine."

Shepard spun around to face him in surprise and her blue eyes widened when she realized just how close he was to her and just how trapped she was. If she moved half an inch forward she would be chest to chest with him.

Swallowing, she asked, "You were Alliance?"

"Until they tossed my ass in prison for trying to do some good and show everyone that some of the big wigs were sleeping with Cerberus," he said, a note of anger latching on to his words. The one time in his life he'd tried to do some good, and his act stabbed him in the back. "Escaped three years later and got a million-credit bounty put on my neck. Each merc, soldier, and gun for hire I killed was added to my list of killings while the Alliance officials secretly working with Cerberus spun some lie to explain why I was imprisoned. So you tell me," Riddick began, bracing his hands on the table at either side of her, coming impossibly close to her. "Is the Alliance the 'pride of humanity'?"

Gritting her teeth, she held his eyes in defiance. "All the more reason for me to enlist," she replied. "My uncle was Alliance and died in the line of duty, and I was rescued by an Alliance patrol. I've seen the good part of the military and intend on joining and adding to the good."

"Well, aren't you a saint."

"Is there anything else you needed, Riddick, or are we done here?" Shepard demanded tightly.

"Just one more question. You got any family left?"

Shepard frowned, the question not one she was expecting. "No. My brother died giving me a chance to escape our home, and by the time I found my mom and dad they were already butchered."

"So, if you have no family left, explain Jack."

The color drained from Shepard's face and she looked away.

A slow smirk for its way to his face. He had her.

"He ain't your brother," Riddick concluded.

"No," Shepard admitted, shaking her head. "He's a runaway. I felt sorry for him so I bought him a ticket to Earth. If it were anybody else I'd have probably left them, but I like to think I'm a good judge of character so…" she trailed off when Riddick started chuckling. "I'm sorry, did I say something funny?" she snapped.

"You did," he answered. "It's funny that you believe you're a good judge of character when you've been lied to since the crash."

"What are you talking about?" she demanded, in no mood to play around.

Sobering, he stared at her for a long moment. Then Riddick leaned in close, and his lips brushed her ear when he said, "Johns ain't a cop." He swore he could hear her heart skip a beat in shock. "He's got that shiny badge, the uniform, but he's nothing more than a merc fucking with your head." He felt her shutter slightly when he breathed against her ear and he smirked, knowing he had her right where he wanted her. Leaning back a bit, he hooked his fingers under her chin and gently tilted her head up to meet his eyes. "Nah, not a cop. He's just a merc, and I'm just a payday to support his red-sand habit."

"… Red-sand?" she asked, voice strained as she stared into his eyes as if in some sort of trance from both his eyes and proximity.

"He hasn't made any biotic displays, but you ever notice the red tint on his nose and teeth, his bloodshot eyes? How about his shaking?" he asked, leaning in close to her face to breathe in her unique and rather intoxicating scent. "That's why he won't kill me. He's too hooked on the shit."

"Why are you telling me this?" she asked, voice trembling slightly.

"'Cause you're buying the shit he's selling," he said matter-of-factly. "You and Fry are both buying it, and that's just what he wants – you two on his side. He knows that when the lights go out, you'll have to choose sides. My opinion, Karla…" He leaned in close, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "Leave everyone behind, just like you left everyone on Mindoir."

That snapped her out of her trance-like state and she stared at him with a mixture a pain and anger. "What the hell did you just say?"

"Everyone called to you for help, didn't they?" he asked, ignoring the anger she projected towards him. "That's why you don't want people to call you Karla. Every time you hear your name you see the faces of the people you left to die. You fucked them over so you could survive. That's what you have to do now."

Angrily, tears threatening to spill, she shoved him away and he let himself be pushed back by the small young woman. "Fuck you!" she shouted.

Before she could run off, he grasped her arm tightly. "After the lights go out, this psycho fuck family of ours is going to tear itself apart. When that happens, you'll need that survival instinct to stay alive."

Wrenching her arm free, Shepard stormed off.

* * *

Shepard's heart was thudding wildly in her chest as she rummaged through Johns' things in one of the back rooms. She didn't want to believe a word Riddick had said, but how could she not believe him when he'd been nothing but honest with them all? Even though she wanted to knock his lights out after that stunt he pulled, getting that close to her, making her feel all warm, and especially after what he said about Mindoir, she couldn't help but fear that he was right about Johns.

Though it was hard to tell in the strange light, she had noticed some discoloration, and the way he'd been shaking earlier. She'd just assumed he was reacting to the heat and fatigue.

Finding his box of ammunition, she opened it and sighed. It looked normal. But when she picked up a few shells, she noticed that a few felt lighter than the rest.

Frowning, she pulled apart a shell and red-sand spilled out all over the table.

Her blood ran cold with anger.

Riddick was right.

"Find somethin' you like?" Johns asked from behind her.

Whirling around, shell still in her hand, she swallowed. "More like something I don't like."

Glaring at her, he stomped over and clutched her hand with the shell, prying it from her fingers. Seeing that its contents were empty, he yanked her out of the way and looked at the red-sand on the table.

Veins stood out on his forehead and he fixed an icy glare on her. "The fuck did you do? You have any idea how much that shit costs?" he demanded, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her violently.

Forcing back her fear, she asked, "You have any idea how Fry will act once she hears about this? That shit could have at least lessened her friend's pain!"

"That poor bastard was already dead. His brain just needed to catch up to the fact."

Pulling free of his arms, she made for the door.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going?"

Shepard said nothing. She kept her eyes locked on the door, determined to get away from him and find Fry. Above all else, the Captain needed to know that Johns was a merc and junky.

Before she made it to the door, Johns grabbed her ponytail and yanked her back.

Yelping, she stumbled to the floor, her brain struggling to catch up as Johns straddled her, knife against her throat.

Images of Mindoir flooded her mind and she felt the onset of a panic attack settling in. All she could see was that batarian's face hovering as he tried – and failed – to rape her, trying to keep her hands pinned above her head as she struggled. Only instead of a batarian above her, it was Johns.

"Get off me!" she cried, hitting his chest with her fists, vision blured by tears. "Get off!"

"Shut up!" Johns yelled at her, grabbing her slim wrists and pinning them above her head with one hand. "Now, you listen to me, princess. You aren't gonna go blabbin' to Fry, your brother, or to anyone else, you hear me? If you do…" He trailed the tip of the knife down her chest, drawing lazy patterns just above the waistband of her pants where skin was visible before slipping the tip beneath the waistband, the action making her want to vomit. "Well, dyin' will be the least of your worries. I make myself clear?"

Chocking on a sob, she nodded, and then winced when he dug the tip of the knife into her hip, drawing blood.

"I didn't hear you."

Finding her voice, she whispered, "Yes."

"Good girl." Looking at her chest, he brought his knife up to play with the rings on the chain between her breasts. "These belonged to your folks, I take it?"

Nervously, she nodded.

Slipping the knife back into his vest, he grabbed the rings and violently ripped the chain from her neck. He then dangled them in front of her like bait, and said, "You keep those pretty lips closed, maybe I'll give 'em back to you. Got it?"

She wanted to cry like a child and beg him to give them back to her, the rings being unbelievably precious to her, but her fear kept her from doing so, so she only murmured, "Got it."

Smirking sadistically, he released her wrists and patted her cheek. As if nothing had happened, he got off her, slipping the rings onto a military-style chain with some fake dog tags before putting it on, making sure she would see it so as to remind her to be quite, and set to work on cleaning up the mess Shepard had made.

Shaking madly, fighting the panic in her chest, Shepard stumbled to her feet and bolted out the door at a run, hand on her naked neck.

It was like Mindoir all over again, but it almost seemed worse. The man she thought she could trust just threatened to rape her if she opened her mouth about his red-sand. She couldn't go to Jack for fear of scaring the girl or making her want to kill him. She could tell Imam or Fry, but she was far too embarrassed to do so, and Fry had enough to worry about as it was, and Imam had just lost one of the boys. They didn't need her baggage. Shazza was busy, and Paris was … well, he was Paris. There was only one person she felt she could go to in order to feel somewhat safe.

Searching the settlement, she found Riddick near the skiff, patching up the wings.

Hastily wiping away the leftover tears on her cheeks, she made her way over to him.

He must have heard her sniffle or something – maybe he even smelled her – because he suddenly looked in her direction.

For a moment, neither said a word.

"You were right about Johns," she said at last, hating how shaky her voice was.

His jaw tightened and he glanced down at her hip, noticing the blood that trickled from the wound, staining the waistband of her pants.

She explained quietly, "He didn't like the idea of me telling anyone." Rubbing the back of her neck nervously, she asked, "Can I help with anything?"

Apparently her reasons for coming over did not go unnoticed by Riddick. Still, he said nothing and motioned to the box of tools on the ground. "Hand me the wrench."

With a faint smile of gratitude, she did as she was told and got the tool. But as she handed it to Riddick, she noticed that it seemed to be a little darker than it should be and she frowned, looking up at the man in front of her. His goggled eyes were elsewhere, on the horizon. Following his gaze, she took a sharp intake of air.

On the horizon, arching upward and growing in size, was the black rainbow of rings on the neighboring planet. They didn't have as much time as they thought. The eclipse had already begun.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write! **_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **_**So, about Jack… I'm trying to make her more badass than she is in the movie in order to make it more believable that she's the same Jack from **_**Mass Effect**_**, but I'm having a surprising amount of difficulty with that. She's still a kid but has had a hellish life so far. How much badass attitude is too much? How soft is too soft? Hopefully I'm able to balance it all out.**_

* * *

The moment the rings were visible over the horizon everyone's asses got kicked into high gear.

Hastily they piled onto the sand-cat, all filled with an acute sense of dread as the shadow of the planet seemed to follow them. Well, all but Riddick. The dark was when he shined, when he was at his best. The same couldn't be said for the others. They'd just flail around in the black and lose themselves. The darkness could do a number on one's head if they let their fear take control.

When they reached the bone yard, everyone ducked to avoid being beheaded and Shepard unintentionally moved closer to him when Johns was jolted in her direction.

Whatever had gone on inside had really shaken the girl up to the point where she hadn't said much at all, not that she seemed like the chatty type. Still, something was off and he had a fairly good idea as to what happened.

She'd mentioned that she'd killed a batarian that tried to rape her and seemed to be holding back a lot of baggage when she said it, and now after talking to Johns she had a cut on her hip and was scared shitless. He sincerely doubted that Johns had actually raped her, but he'd done enough to remind her of Mindoir and send her into a panic. He was even wearing the two rings from Shepard's necklace around his neck like some trophy or as something to remind the girl of what had happened. Ever since she'd kept close to Riddick.

If she was looking for comfort, she was shit out of luck. Comfort wasn't something he thought he was even capable of giving. Perhaps that's why she stuck close to him – he wasn't trying to comfort her and wasn't showing her pity. She had to learn how to take care of her own shit, and offering her pity wouldn't do her any good. Comfort wasn't something he could knowingly offer her, but protection – if only for the time being while she got her head on straight – was something he could do.

As they neared the crash site, Riddick noticed she was becoming more and more relaxed, and she'd even begun throwing Johns a glare every so often. It was as though Shepard's strong-willed and defiant nature was coming into conflict with whatever remained of her innocence. The only question was why she hadn't fought back the way she had on Mindoir.

Did she not fight back because Johns was a human, not batarian? Was she trying to keep herself from acting the way she did that day because of some sort of regret? Perhaps her psychological wounds ran deeper than he thought. Maybe she hadn't fought back because Johns was human, and maybe it had nothing to do with regret. After Mindoir, maybe she was afraid to let the animal inside her out of its cage again. Hell, maybe she was simply more fragile than he thought. He didn't know.

The sand-cat reached the crashed ship and they jumped off before it even came to a stop, hurrying to gather the cells and other supplies they needed. Shepard and Jack set to work on finding some lights, Paris went to the cargo hold to get something, and the others grabbed the cells.

But it didn't matter how fast or how hard they worked to get everything together. The planet had crossed in front of the sun, casting and eerie orange glow over the landscape. It wouldn't be long before the light went out completely.

Carrying a few flashlights, Shepard set her find on the sand-cat as Jack came up behind her empty-handed. Out of breath in the low oxygen climate, she looked back at the sky while Jack frantically tried to wipe off the dirt on the solar battery of the sand-cat.

"We're not going to make it back, are we?" Shepard asked Riddick, looking up at him as he lowered the cells onto the sand-cat.

He said nothing, and he didn't have to. The answer was one that everyone knew. They'd arrived too late. By the time they'd placed the number of cells needed onto the vehicle, the blaring light had become nothing more than a dim glow and the solar battery was failing.

Coming to a stop, the survivors stared at the eclipse. Shazza, however, kept fighting with the sand-cat, desperately trying to make it go. It was nothing but pointless. Even the kid had stopped trying to wipe away the dirt.

Off in the distance, a high-pitch screech came from the pinnacles where the light had faded almost completely and was followed by several more screeches and squeals seconds later. And then the source of the sounds erupted from the pinnacles as a swarm of wings and teeth flying in synchronization with each other heading up towards the sky.

Walking up behind Riddick, Johns asked, "How many are there?"

Riddick didn't know. It could be hundreds, it could be thousands. To venture a guess would be a waste of time. It didn't matter if it were one hundred or one million. There were enough creatures to be deadly.

Watching them with fascination and awe, Riddick admired the predators. As one they could be a threat, but with them working in perfect synchronization they could be a force to be reckoned with. How dangerous these things truly were was a mystery, having only seen the remnants of Ali's corpse after he'd been attacked and not the attack itself. It seemed as though they were about to find out just how dangerous the small creatures were as the swarm abruptly turned in their direction.

"People, just a suggestion," Paris called from the cargo hold. "Perhaps you should flee!"

Already running, Fry shouted, "Let's go!"

Imam, his boys, and Johns followed a second later, and Riddick, Shepard, and Shazza brought up the rear, running for the ship.

Sparing a glance back, Riddick spotted Shepard running with her eyes glued on the cargo hold and muttering something under her breath over and over like a mantra. Perhaps she was praying, though he didn't think she was the religious type. Or maybe she was merely trying to reassure herself that they'd make it back to the cargo hold. Briefly her eyes locked with his and he saw fear, but above all else, he saw determination. She'd decided that she would make it back to that container.

Taking his eyes off her and looking forward at the other survivors, he noticed that one was missing. Looking back again, he saw Jack standing stock still at the sand-cat, his eyes wide as he stared at the creatures.

Shepard, frowning, followed his line of sight and skidded to a halt.

"Jack!" Before Riddick or Shazza could stop her, Shepard turned on her heel and ran back to the sand-cat to get the kid. "Jack, run!"

Snapping out of his trance just as Shepard reached him, Jack jumped off the vehicle and took Shepard's hand before scrambling for the cargo hold.

Against his better judgment and instincts, Riddick broke away from the group and ran towards the two, grabbing Shepard's elbow and hauling her along, forcing the two to run faster. He should have left them to fend for themselves and get picked off by the creatures so that his chances of getting away went up, but he didn't.

Shazza slowed down a fraction, urging them to hurry up, but otherwise kept running.

From the cargo hold, Fry yelled, "Get down!"

Without waiting for an explanation, Shazza dove into the ditch created by the _Hunter Gratzner_, Riddick following and pulling Shepard and Jack down with him just as the swarm flew inches over their heads.

Shepard threw her arm over Jack, keeping the kid flat on the ground whilst protecting her head with her other arm.

Then there was silence and the creatures dissolved into the rising darkness.

Breathing heavily, Shepard glanced around and both she and Jack started getting up.

Riddick's arm shot out over Shepard, forcing her back to the ground. "Not yet," he warned quietly.

Nodding, Shepard murmured to Jack to stay down.

Shazza, on the other hand, was too far ahead to hear the warning. After a few more seconds of silence, the woman got to her feet and darted off towards the others.

"No!" Jack screamed, fighting against Shepard's hold on him. "Shazza get down! Just stay down, Shazza! Stay down!"

Shazza ignored the boy's pleas and kept running even as the others shouted at her to get down.

Struggling to hold onto Jack, Shepard hissed to Riddick, "Help me!"

Both were too high up off the ground so Riddick maneuvered half his body on top of Shepard to keep her flat with his weight and put his arm over the boy, forcing him to remain on the ground.

The action came just in time.

Out of nowhere the swarm returned, headed directly for the fleeing woman.

The swarm hit Shazza like a dark tidal wave, forcing her to her knees as she screamed in agony.

"No! Shazza!" Jack cried. Squirming wildly, the kid pulled free of Riddick and Shepard's grasp and ran towards the woman.

"Jack, get back here!" Shepard shouted and struggled to get out from under Riddick, but he held her down with his arms locked around her like a vice.

Ignoring her, Jack ran as fast as his legs could carry him. Then, shocking everyone but Shepard, a blue aura formed around the boy and he raised his hands, unleashing a massive shockwave in the direction of a smaller swarm that came at him. The force of the shockwave caused all of the flying creatures within range to screech as they were killed before being propelled every which way.

_The kid's a biotic_, Riddick observed silently.

Clearing a path to Shazza, the boy threw several of the creatures with powerful biotic throws, putting a barrier up around himself to keep from turning into the next victim, but it wasn't enough.

Before he could get a clear shot at Shazza, the creatures ripped her in half at waist, carrying both pieces off, flying away with their kill as Jack chased after them for a few feet before stumbling to a halt, bracing his hands on his knees.

Forcing Riddick off of her, Shepard rushed over to Jack, grabbing him by the shoulders and giving him a hard shake. "What the hell were you thinking?" she demanded. "You could have gotten yourself killed! And which part about not using your biotics did you not understand, Jack?"

"I…" He paused to take in a few hits from his breather. "I thought I could scare 'em off. Give her time to run. If she'd only stayed down…" The boy swallowed as if trying to clear a lump from his throat and blinked several times. "I'll kill them all," he swore angrily, voice low, a blue aura erupting over his skin again with his rising anger. "I swear to God, I'll kill them all."

"Damn it, Jack," Shepard grumbled before pulling the kid into a quick, tight hug and leading him quickly to the cargo hold.

Rising to his feet and clapping his hands together to rid them of some of the dirt, Riddick followed.

What new secrets were there to learn?

Upon reaching the others, Johns lashed out and grabbed Jack by the arm, yanking him towards him hard enough to make the kid gasp. "When were you plannin' on informing us that you were a fuckin' biotic?"

"Back off!" Shepard hissed, shoving him away, her earlier fear of him pushed aside by her desire to protect the boy. "I told him to keep his mouth shut about it. You want to get pissed with someone? Fine, get pissed with me, but lay a hand on Jack again and I'll kill you." From her tone and the ice in her blue eyes, there was no mistaking that she would follow through with the threat and everyone stared at her and Johns in silence.

Clenching his fists and sporting a look that could kill, Johns backed away and allowed Shepard and Jack passage into the cargo hold.

Paris, shaking from head to toe, looked to Fry. "Please, I really think we should go inside. We have to be inside to be able to close the door." Choosing against waiting to see if what he said got through, he hurried in, saying, "Come on, let's go! Go, go, go!"

Fry tore her eyes off the sky and turned to head into the hold as Riddick came up behind her. Just as they were about to step inside, the screeching and squealing returned, louder this time, and followed by a low rumble that shook the ground beneath their feet. The two turned to the pinnacles and saw the tips crumble and break.

Riddick lifted his goggles and the world became cast in various shades of pink and purple. Without the hindrance of the goggles, he could see things much clearer than before, see the danger they were in. Bursting from the pinnacles were large winged creatures, no doubt the parents of the smaller ones, with long talons and a whip-like tail. As the remaining light faded, they flew into the air, staking their claim on the night.

Voice just above a whisper, Fry asked, "What is it, Riddick? What is it now?"

"Like I said," he began, a smile playing at his lips. "It ain't me you gotta worry about."

* * *

Shepard didn't know if she was furious with Jack's actions or proud. On the one hand, she could have been killed and now there was the risk of Johns knowing who she was, but on the other hand she'd risked her life to try to help Shazza. The girl was only eleven but had done something Shepard didn't do on Mindoir back when she was sixteen – she'd tried to help. All Shepard did was run for her life and not look back, killing anyone who got in her way.

Sighing, she decided that she couldn't scold Jack for what she did.

Johns and Fry cast their lights over the area, checking to see if it were safe. Though to be honest, if Johns said it was safe Shepard would double check to make sure it truly was. She still had a fear in her that told her not to mess with him because he might carry through with his threat, but her anger outweighed it the moment he laid a hand on Jack. The kid was pretending to be a boy because she was afraid of men, and when Johns grabbed her she'd gone pale. Remembering the fear she felt on Mindoir and when Johns had her pinned to the ground, something inside Shepard snapped.

No one was going to hurt Jack, not if she had a say in the matter, and when she was able to get Fry alone she would tell her about Johns' red-sand. Shepard wasn't going to let Johns intimidate her any longer. What good would being afraid of him do anyways?

"Y'all remember the bone-yard?" Johns asked. "These just might be the fuckers that killed every living thing on this planet."

Shepard had to agree with him on that one.

Frightened and holding his lighter, Paris asked, "Are these the only lights we have? Is this everything?"

Fry shook her head and fumbled around in the dark. "No, there's a cutting torch on the floor here somewhere. I just can't –"

"Quiet," Imam interrupted, moving to the wall. "Please, everyone, quiet."

Joining him, Shepard, Jack, Fry, Suleiman, and Hassan pressed their ears to the wall and listened to the strange screeching and squealing the creatures made.

"Why do they do that, make that sound?" Jack whispered.

"Perhaps it is the way they see," Imam observed.

Shepard nodded. "Like bats and echolocation. Seeing the sound waves bouncing off objects and stuff."

"Sounds like a good enough theory," Fry agreed.

A loud crash and the screech of metal caused the survivors to turn in the other direction and go quiet. They saw nothing through the darkness and Riddick, goggles still off his eyes, didn't appear to see anything either.

"Fry?..." Shepard asked quietly, moving to the woman's side.

"Could be a breach in the hull," she suggested, scanning the darkness for anything sign of the creatures and the sound of crawling grew closer.

"Come on, Johns," Riddick taunted. "You got the big gauge."

Personally, Shepard would have preferred to send Johns ahead without the gun.

Johns snorted. "I'd rather piss glass," he declared. "Why don't you go fuckin' check?"

Riddick didn't move a muscle.

Panic setting in as the sounds grew ever closer, Paris darted for the door. "I'm not staying here anymore."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Shepard hissed grabbing him.

She understood his fear, but if he opened that door they were all dead.

"Where you going?" Johns snapped. "Somebody sit him down!"

Fry wrestled him to the ground with Shepard's help.

"You don't know what's out there," Fry hissed.

He stared at her. "I know what's in _here_!"

He did have a point.

Using a metal bar, Imam forced open a door to a joining container before ushering everyone inside in Arabic and English. The space was much smaller, and though Shepard wasn't claustrophobic, she could say she was rather uncomfortable in the new area.

Her feelings were shared by Paris. "Now we're trapped in a much smaller space," he complained. "I hate this!"

Despite the mutual distaste for the space, at least it was safer.

Out of nowhere, a talon burst through the door they'd come threw a few inches from Imam's head, desperately trying to get to them.

Shouting in terror, Imam darted away from the door and to the others, backing as far away from the creatures on the other side of the door as they could.

Finding the cutting torch on the floor, Riddick held it near Paris's lighter and the fumes caught fire. Wasting no time, he began making a hole in the wall to get through to the next container. He wasn't an idiot and had no intention of finding out if the door would hold the creatures at bay.

Johns rose to his feet and fired wildly at the door. With each shot that was fired from the weapon, the larger the holes became.

"Get the fuck down!" Fry snapped, grabbing his belt and yanking him to the floor. "There are enough holes with that thing poking its way in here!"

With little time to spare, the hole Riddick was cutting was made and they piled into what appeared to be a cargo hold and handed the torch to Fry.

Lifting the goggles off his eyes, Riddick ventured into the darkness.

Pushing some crates in front of the hole, Shepard saw Riddick walking off out of the corner of her eye and frowned. "Riddick?" she called but he gave no reply and was soon consumed by shadows. Looking to Fry, she asked, "Where's Riddick going?"

"I don't know," she replied, and both she and Johns started off in the direction Riddick had wandered with the others close behind them.

Fumbling in the dark with little light, Jack stayed close to Shepard whilst trying to act older than she was. She wasn't fooling anyone because they were all frightened, Shepard and the others just knew how to hide it a little better. Still, Shepard couldn't help but shake with fear.

Holding the cutting torch high to see more clearly, Fry called out, "Riddick?"

For a moment there was only silence, but then they heard his short reply. "Don't. Stop. Burning."

None of them had to ask why he was so short with his reply.

Those things were in the hold with them.

"Shit," Fry hissed, handing off the torch to Johns. "Take this."

Taking it from her, he gave her his flashlight and quickly started cutting another hole while Fry searched for Riddick, staying more or less in the light.

Imam, in a panic, paced around. "Where is Hasan?"

Only then did Shepard realize that one of the boys was gone.

Before any of the survivors could go off in search of the boy, the clicking and screeching picked up again, louder than it had been, and sound of running could be heard, followed shortly by a loud thud.

Just as Fry turned the light towards the noises, Riddick darted out of the darkness and howled in pain as the light hit him square in the eyes, falling to the side. As painful as the light must have been, the action probably saved his life as one of the creatures was directly behind him. It too let out a screech of pain and jumped away.

Johns blindly fired at it, round after round.

The shots were fired right next to Shepard's head and she hissed, covering her ears.

When he finally stopped shooting, there was silence, apart from the loud ringing in her ears thanks to Johns.

A bleeding carcass abruptly fell at their feet and everyone jumped back in terror before realizing it was dead.

As Fry inched forward slowly, Shepard grabbed her arm. "What're you doing?"

"Testing a theory," she replied calmly and shown the light on the dead alien. The moment the light touched it, the creature's skin sizzled and charred.

"It's like the light is scalding it," Paris commented.

"It hurts them," Fry whispered to herself. "Light actually hurts them."

Despite being dead, the creature twitched and they jumped in response. Somewhere in the darkness, other creatures squealed as if sensing that one of their own had been killed.

Swallowing, Imam called, "Hasan?"

"We'll burn a candle for him later," Johns sighed. "C'mon, let's get outta here."

No one argued with him and they hurriedly got out of the hold and into a smaller section that was clear of any creatures. All Shepard wanted to do was sit down and catch her breath but Johns was already barking out orders to look for anything of use like he was the leader.

After seeing that he was a junky, after his threats, after how he treated Jack, she wasn't going to stand for that and went searching for Fry.

* * *

There really wasn't much they could use in the container, Fry noted. It was used in case there was too much for the main cargo holds and since there'd been enough room in both it hadn't been used for much of anything. But she still looked around. Maybe there was something she wasn't seeing.

"Fry?"

Turning around, she spotted Shepard nervously walking up to here. "Everything okay?"

"Not exactly," the girl admitted. "I need to talk to you."

"What about?"

"You should be in charge, not Johns."

That wasn't exactly what she was expecting to hear. "Why? He seems to be doing all right so far."

"Maybe," Shepard reluctantly agreed, "But… Riddick told me earlier that he's a junky and a mercenary."

Fry did a double take, not wanting to believe it. "Shepard, you can't trust everything Riddick says. He's a murderer." Was it true that they shouldn't believe Riddick? As she'd pointed out to Johns, he hadn't lied to them once.

"I didn't believe him either at first, so I went snooping and found his red-sand in some of his shotgun shells. He, uh…" Shepard rubbed the back of her neck. "He walked in on me and threw me to the ground and… he threatened to rape me if I told you or anyone else."

For a long moment, Fry stared at Shepard and saw her in a new light. She might have survived hell on Mindoir, but she was still a girl, not yet a grown woman. With how she was avoiding Fry's eyes and chewing on her lip, she could see that Johns had freaked her out.

Walking to her, the older woman put her arms around her in a tight hug. "You should have told me right away, sweetie."

"I would have, but… the same thing almost happened on Mindoir," she said, voice shaking. "All I could think about was how close that batarian came to… to doing _that _before I killed him – _butchered_ him – and I started having a panic attack. The only one who has any idea about what Johns threatened to do is Riddick, and that's only because he saw the cut on my hip and guessed."

Fry had a hard time seeing Shepard as a killer, but if it came down to being raped or not Fry would kill in a heartbeat. The girl had done what she had to do to survive.

Pulling back, the pilot looked at Shepard. "Stay close to Imam and Riddick. I'll talk to Johns."

The girl nodded. "Be careful."

Giving a short nod, she ushered the girl off and stormed off in search of Johns. She still didn't want to believe any of it, but she wasn't about to call Shepard a liar.

When she found him in the back, she was forced to believe everything the girl said.

Bent over a crate, Johns breathed in a line of red-sand.

Anger bubbled to the surface and she struggled to stay composed as she asked, "Who are you?"

The man jumped slightly, wobbling, and looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

"You're not a cop," she accused through her teeth.

"Don't believe I ever said I was, Carolyn," Johns replied snidely.

"No, you didn't." Walking over to him, she grabbed his case of shells and opened one, finding more sand. "Never said you were a junky either."

"Let me guess," he drawled, the sand taking effect and causing a blue aura to erupt over his body. "Little miss Shepard told you."

"She did, and she also told me what you'd do if she talked."

He shrugged carelessly. "Only told her that dyin' would be the least of her worries. She can take it any way she'd like."

Gaping at him, Fry demanded, "Is there anything else we should know about you, Johns? Anything at all?"

"Is there anything else _they _should know about _you_, Carolyn," Johns questioned, blue eyes locking with hers. "Be a shame if they found out 'bout what you tried to do."

"Fuck you," she hissed and stomped off, tossing away the shell with the baggy of red-sand.

Johns went searching halfheartedly for the bag she threw but rather than finding it, he found Jack wandering around. "You seen one of my shotgun shells?" he demanded.

Looking over her shoulder, Fry snapped, "Leave him be, Johns."

Shrugging, hands buried in his pockets, Jack shook his head. "Nope." Without another word he went back to the others.

Fry watched the boy curiously for a long minute but shook her head and rejoined the group.

* * *

"Where'd you go?" Shepard asked Jack when she returned.

"Had to pee," she explained and Shepard didn't believe her for a second. Figuring the girl had wanted to be alone, she didn't dig for an answer.

A moment later Fry joined them and when she gave her a nod, Shepard knew that she'd dealt with Johns.

"Everyone," Fry called. "Gather 'round and bring what lights you have."

Tiredly, they all huddled around the cutting torch that was propped in the center of the container and set their lights next to it. They were all tired and wearily waited for her to make an assessment or something.

Eying the lights, she said, "So we got one cutting torch, and two hand lights. There's gotta be something we can rip out of the crash ship."

"Spirits," offered Paris. "Anything over forty-five proof burns rather well."

"How many bottles you got?"

"I don't know," he said with a shrug. "Maybe ten."

"Okay." She turned her eyes to Johns. "You got some flares, Johns."

He nodded, less than happy.

"So," she continued. "Maybe we've got enough light."

Enough light? Shepard wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

Jack tapped her on the arm, leaned close, and whispered, voice quivering, "What's she talkin' about?"

Shepard shrugged, putting her arm over the girl's shoulders comfortingly.

Johns liked what Fry said even less. "Enough for fuckin' what?" he demanded.

"We stick to the plan," Fry clarified. "We get the four cells back to the skiff, we're off this rock."

The thought of stepping outside with what was out there scared Shepard to no end but hiding in the container for what could be hours sounded worse. "If we get enough light, it could work. But there'd have to be enough to shine on all of us. Just having a beam of light in front of us won't cut it if our backs are in the dark."

"Look," Paris cut in. "I hate to ruin a beautiful theory with an ugly fact, but that sand cat is solar. It won't run at night. How do you suppose we get the cells to the skiff?"

"We carry the cells," she said. "We drag them, whatever it takes."

Holding her legs to her chest, Jack looked from Shepard to Fry. "Tonight? With all those things out there?"

"What're you complainin' about?" Johns snapped. "You're a fuckin' biotic!"

"And a kid," Shepard added angrily.

"I wasn't talkin' to you!"

"Enough!" Fry ordered and they fell silent for a few seconds.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Johns asked, "All right, how long can this last?" He glanced around at everyone. "A few hours? A day, tops?"

Imam, holding his prayer beads, spoke up. "I have the impression from the model. The two planets were moving as one, and there would be a lasting darkness."

A chill ran down Shepard's spine. "That's a pleasant thought," she mumbled.

Johns snorted. "These suns gotta come up sometime. And if these creatures are phobic about light, then we just sit tight, and we let the sun come up."

Holding his eyes, Fry replied, "I'm sure somebody else said that, locked inside that coring room."

Trying to find a foothold in the argument, Johns pointed at Jack. "We need to think about everybody now, especially the kid. How scared is this boy gonna be out there in the dark?"

Jack's jaw set at the impression of her being a weak kid and tensed. Noticing this, Shepard gave her shoulder a squeeze. She really didn't want Jack getting pissed off in such a small space.

"Don't use him like that," Fry warned, frowning.

"Like what?" he asked, playing innocent.

"Like a smokescreen. You deal with your own damn fear."

"Why don't you shut your fuckin' mouth for two seconds and let me come up with a plan that doesn't involve mass suicide?" he demanded, anger coming awfully close to its boiling point.

Nervously, Shepard glanced over at Riddick. He was staring at Johns, his grip on his makeshift blade tight. Seems as though he knew Johns wasn't in a right state of mind.

Outside, the creatures squealed, searching for a way inside.

When Johns failed to reply, Fry said, "I'm waiting."

Shepard smirked when Johns' face reddened.

"How much you weigh, Johns?" Fry asked when it became clear he had nothing to say.

"What's it matter, Carolyn?"

"How much?" she repeated firmly.

Huffing, he replied, "Around seventy-nine kilos to be exact. Why?"

"'Cause you're seventy-nine kilos of gutless white meat," she accused coldly. "And that's why you can't think –"

"Is that fuckin' right?" he shouted, jumping to his feet with his shotgun.

Abruptly, Riddick stepped in front of him and Johns aimed the weapon at his chin. "The hell you goin'?"

Removing his goggles, Riddick gave him a calm smile and glanced down where he tapped his blade against Johns' groin in warning. Shepard couldn't help but smile as Johns paled.

"This solves nothing," Imam scolded, looking back and forth between Fry, Riddick, and Johns.

Swallowing, Johns nodded. "Okay." He sat down in defeat.

Going to Jack's side, Fry got to the girl's level. "They're afraid of our light. That means we don't have to be so afraid of them."

"And you are sure you can get us there, even in the dark?" Imam asked doubtfully.

To Shepard's surprise, Fry hardly blinked when she said, "No, I can't." And then she looked at Riddick. "But _he _can."

Now that brought Riddick to a pause and he looked at Fry as though she'd gone insane, as did everyone else, and Shepard knew why.

They were going to have to trust Riddick to lead them to safety.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!  
**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **_**I actually gave it some thought about whether or not Riddick would notice Jack is a boy from the beginning or later on, and read the book again to gain some insight. However, in the book everyone knew Jack was a girl upfront, so that didn't help much. I decided to write the story in a way that had Riddick knowing there was something up, but not necessarily knowing**_**what _was up_. **

_**And since I do plan to write a sequel set during **_**Mass Effect 2**_**, I'd like to have some input on when Riddick should be introduced. It would obviously have to be after Freedom's Progress, but I'd like it to be before Horizon. I'm just a little torn on when Shepard and Riddick should cross paths. Should Shepard go searching for Riddick, or should Riddick go searching for Shepard after learning she's alive? When should they meet again between the events of Freedom's Progress and Horizon? There's only a few more chapters left to this story, and I'd like to figure this out beforehand.**_

_**While I'll ultimately decide what goes into my story and how everything goes, I value the opinions of everyone and will regularly ask questions about where you all would like to see the story go and for input. It's my story, but you all are reading it! I'll always take suggestions into consideration, and if used, I will give a shout-out to those who offered the specific suggestion!**_

* * *

People had never followed Riddick, let alone trusted him to lead them to safety. He suspected that desperation was the leading factor rather than trust, but whatever one wanted to call it, it was an unforeseen change of events.

As he carried the power cells to the sled Fry had rigged up outside, he noticed that everyone didn't so much as turn their head towards him to acknowledge his presence.

_Too focused on surviving to see the real danger_, he thought to himself.

Whether or not he would actually get them off world was the big question, one he himself didn't have an answer for. He would get himself to that ship no matter what, but he didn't know if he'd get them all out.

Dropping the cells onto the sled, he lifted his goggles and stared out into the darkness where hundreds if not thousands of predators waited for someone to slip up and fall out of the light. Briefly, he recalled how parents would tell their children there was no such thing as monsters, and that there was nothing hiding in the darkness. That was the largest lie in the galaxy. The dark was the most dangerous place that existed, and he'd learned shortly after acquiring his altered vision that the dark protected no one because there was always something waiting in the shadows, a monster waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

Riddick was one of the monsters, perhaps the most dangerous one on this dark planet. While the beasts in the darkness looked and sounded like monsters, he was overlooked because they expected him to save them, leaving him the opening to become their damnation.

Hearing approaching footsteps, he glanced back and saw Shepard walking over to him, holding a belt with lights attached to it.

She held it out to him. "Jack put it together. It's meant to go across your chest or something, I don't know. Either way, the light won't be shining in your face."

Taking it, he returned to staring at the creatures, noticing that their tails had turned in Shepard's direction. No doubt they realized he wasn't alone now.

Hugging herself nervously, she asked, "How many are out there?"

He shrugged, and she didn't ask for him to elaborate.

A second or two passed before she spoke again, quieter, "Johns isn't going to let you go."

"Knew that from the start."

Surprise flickered over her features. "How did you –"

"No one's gonna turn a murderer loose," he interrupted coldly.

"So why help us?" Shepard ventured to ask.

"Been asking myself the same thing," he replied quietly, once again wondering why he didn't just leave everyone behind when he could easily carry the cells back to the skiff. It would be difficult and exceedingly dangerous, but he'd be able to do it on his own.

"Maybe you're not as bad as you think," Shepard speculated with a smirk.

He snorted but gave no reply.

What she said was the most ridiculous thing he'd ever heard, but how could she not think it?

His reputation indicated that he was a dangerous, animalistic killer who sought to protect his own skin at the risk of the lives of others, and it was very true. And yet he was helping these people when he didn't need them, had protected Shepard and Jack by keeping them down from the swarm of creatures before the sun went down when he had no reason to, and he couldn't explain why.

Glancing over his shoulder at the others putting together the neon blue lights and prepping the liquor bottles to be used as torches if need be, he turned to go speak with Fry and advise her on how to proceed to the ship. Before he could renter the ship, Shepard blocked his path, arms crossed over her chest.

He said nothing and waited for her to speak her mind.

Worrying on her lower lip, she asked, "Can we trust you, Riddick? You know, not to screw us over and all?"

The first word that came to mind was _no _but the word became stuck in his throat as a whisper in the back of his mind said _yes_. The most primitive part of him, the animistic part, demanded that he leave the people to die the moment he got the chance, insisted that they would only drag him down. The other part of him, however, a part he had no name for, insisted that he aid his fellow survivors, keep them safe, and assume some kind of "kill all who threaten" mentality with the people who were trusting him.

Realizing that Shepard was waiting for an answer, he sighed and said, "Not sure."

A look of dread fell over her face and she swallowed, but she also nodded and accepted his answer even though it obviously hadn't been what she wanted to hear. Resigned that what he said was the only answer she would get, she stepped to the side.

Stepping away from the girl, Riddick picked his way through the debris and survivors scurrying around and walked over to Fry as she rigged up the sled they would be using.

She started when she heard his footsteps but calmed when she saw that it was only him. Funny, given that most people panicked when he showed himself. These people were far too comfortable around him.

As if hearing some silent question, Fry rose to her feet and said, "Give us about ten minutes and we'll be ready to head out."

"Five minutes," he corrected. "Natives are getting restless."

She glanced passed him into the darkness, listening to the telltale sounds of the monsters hiding just out of view. "Guess we'd be the first real meal they've had in a while," she muttered.

It was more than that, but Riddick kept it to himself.

What had drawn the monsters in so thickly around the ship was blood – fresh blood.

He'd caught wind of the scent on the air while in the cargo hold but hadn't been certain of who it belonged to until after speaking to Shepard privately a moment ago and now that he was talking to Fry. The scent wasn't normal to the blood belonging to a cut. This was something more private and primitive and constant. It occurred to him while taking shelter in the cargo hold, that someone was having their period.

His thoughts instantly turned to Fry and Shepard as they were the only females left in the group, but Shepard's scent remained the same as it had since meeting her – uniquely enticing, but lacking the undertone of blood. Now that he was standing before Fry, he realized that she wasn't the source of the smell either, and he began to wonder if he was just imagining things. If it wasn't one of them, who was it?

Glancing around, his shined eyes landed on the little boy, Jack, and he frowned, breathing deep, and then it hit him.

Shepard had been lying about the kid being her brother, she'd kept quiet that the kid was a biotic, and she was hiding the fact that Jack wasn't a little boy, but rather was a little _girl_. And that little girl was on her period.

A slight smirk tugged at his lips and he glanced out into the darkness. He really should have noticed earlier that Jack was a girl, but the kid's gender hadn't been on his mind at the time. He'd known something was up with Jack, but he didn't stop to think that what was up was the fact that he was a she.

The others should be told the truth about Jack, informed that she put them all in considerable risk, but he decided in that second to keep his mouth shut until they were a good distance away from the ship or if they needed to be told. He was a murderer who killed anyone who got in his way, threatened to shorten his lifespan, or just became a pain in his ass, but he did not hurt children. He had no real reason for not killing kids, he just believed in his gut that harming children was wrong, and he refused to hurt them. For now, Jack's secret was safe with him, but kid needed to know that she was at risk of being ripped to shreds because of the target painted on her back.

Looking back to Fry, he inclined his head into the ship and started walking, knowing that she'd take the hint and follow him.

"When we do this, we're going to be going at one pace – my pace. If we make frequent stops we risk everyone getting picked off despite the light," he informed her, nearing Jack and raising his hand to protect his eyes from some of the lights. "I'll be running about ten paces ahead. I want light on my back but not in my eyes. And check your cuts – these bad boys know our blood now."

Catching his words, Jack's head snapped up, her eyes widening slightly as the light bulb flickered on above her head.

It was safe to say that she now knew she was putting everyone at danger, and thus Riddick's job was done. She had to decide if she was going to keep her mouth shut or tell everyone about her "problem".

"If we get too winded we're gonna need to stop and rest for at least a few minutes," Fry argued.

"Not saying breaks aren't allowed, but we can't afford to stop 'cause someone gets a little tired. Either everyone sucks it up, or they get left behind. I say we keep going, we keep going. Non-negotiable."

Fry sighed, clearly unhappy with it, but couldn't question him. She'd given him the reigns and had to let him lead.

Riddick just had to figure out if he'd lead them out of hell or leave them to burn in the darkness.

* * *

Never again would Shepard be comfortable in the dark.

As a little girl, she'd been a little afraid of the monster under her bed, but who wasn't afraid of that when they were young? At first, he parents would let her crawl into bed with them, but eventually they told her she was too old – she was about eight – and that there wasn't anything to be afraid of. They even looked under her bed to assure her that nothing was there. After a while, she accepted the fact that there was no such thing as monsters.

Unfortunately, there were monsters.

The batarians were monsters in her mind, having turned an average day into a nightmare and destroy all that she loved. The creatures hiding in the darkness, clicking and making the eerie sounds as they stalked them, were monsters. And then there were the human monsters.

Humans weren't people she made out to be monsters until recently.

Johns was a monster, a wolf in sheep's clothing. He'd acted like a charming cop, a man she could trust, but in the end he was just a mercenary and red-sand junky who had threatened to rape her. Worse, he'd taken her parents' wedding rings and wore them around his neck so that she had a constant reminder to keep quiet. Now, she suspected, she would never get them back since she'd confessed to Fry about who he was and what he'd threatened to do.

Lastly, there was Riddick, a man in a category all his own, but she wasn't sure if she could call him a monster or not.

There was no question that he was a dangerous killer, but he really didn't seem as terrible as he was made out to be. He could have killed her multiple times but had left her alive, and he'd even saved her in a way by making sure she stayed down while Jack unleashed her biotics on the swarm. Everything about him was a contradiction, and it made her uneasy. She wanted to know that she could trust him – that they all could trust him – but it sounded like he didn't even know if he could be trusted. Perhaps that made Riddick the most dangerous being on the planet – she knew she couldn't trust Johns, knew the creatures would kill her, but she had no idea what Riddick had planned.

Lost in her thoughts, the young woman stumbled on a rock and would have fallen had it not been for Imam grasping her arm to keep her upright.

She nodded her thanks and sucked in gulps of air, wishing she had her breather – it had been empty, so she left it behind. The pace at which they were jogging wasn't too fast, but having to constantly jog for the past ten minutes was causing her legs to burn and her lungs to ache. Weak was something that didn't apply to her, but she was tired – both mentally and physically – was sore, and in need of more substantial oxygen.

Sensing her faltering step, Imam secured the neon blue lights around him more securely and held onto her arm to keep her moving. "We are all tired, Shepard, but we must keep moving."

Again, she nodded, but after a moment she said, "Karla. My name's Karla."

Imam stared at her before giving her a brief, fatherly smile.

Shepard didn't like people using her first name, but perhaps it was time to move past that. What happened on Mindoir, as terrible as it was, didn't seem as bad as what was happening now. Of course it was horrifying and she would forever carry scars from that day, would always remember staring at the people calling out to her before turning her back on them and running away, but she couldn't let that day rule her life. If she did, she'd lose eventually because fear would dominate her life. The way she saw it, the first step to moving on was to allow a few people of her choosing to call her by her first name.

One of those people was definitely Imam.

He was a nice man and had a fatherly aspect to him that she hadn't known she'd missed. There was nothing about him that was similar to her father, but that didn't really matter. He was one of the people there that she knew she could trust.

Then there was Fry, who she supposed she'd allow to call her by her first name. The Captain was a strong woman and a strong leader. Despite the risk of leaving the ship, Fry understood that it was their only chance and was willing to make the hard decision. Shepard could only hope that she'd be as good a leader as Fry one day after she enlisted.

As for Riddick, well, it didn't matter if she gave him permission or not – he'd call her Karla whenever he felt like it. And if she were being honest with herself, the few times he did call her Karla had actually helped more than hurt her. Hearing her name again in a tone that did not belong to someone screaming for help was helpful and something she didn't know she needed.

The dark planet was hellish, but she felt that if she survived she'd come out stronger than before, better off, and more at ease with her past.

She still preferred to be called Shepard, though. The name Karla still poked at raw wounds and brought forth guilt at having left so many behind to die when she could have at least tried to help.

For a while, Shepard was able to keep up, but eventually she felt as though she were going to collapse. By the looks of it, the same could be said for Jack as the girl was huffing and puffing.

"Riddick," Shepard called breathlessly to the front where he ran point. "Can we slow down?"

Riddick said nothing and kept running.

"_Please_?"

He glanced back at her, eyes narrowed to take in as little light as possible, before sighing is resignation and slowing to a walk.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief at the change of pace, all feeling the effects of low oxygen, fatigue, and constant jogging. Their only saving grace was the lack of boiling heat. It was still warm out, but it was tolerable, almost comfortable. But upon slowing, they all became keenly aware that the creatures had moved closer as if sensing their dwindling strength, boldly swooping down to spook them.

"Oh, dear God…" Paris murmured, staring at the blowtorch he held as its fire began to dim. A second later, the fire went out.

"Stay close," Imam warned, ushering everyone closer to the sled.

Jack, however, didn't listen.

Hitting a bump, the sled jolted and a bottle of alcohol fell out, rolling out of the circle of light.

Jack slipped out of the glowing tubes, and said, "Wait."

Turning, Shepard spotted the girl wandering out to the edge of the light, getting down on her hands and knees and reaching out into the darkness for the bottle.

"Jack!" Fry shouted, spotting her as well.

The moment her arm was within the darkness, the clicking grew louder, more excited, and Shepard knew that one of the creatures was looking to turn the young girl into a meal.

"Jack, get back in the light!" Shepard cried as Imam released her to go to Jack's aid.

With mere seconds to spare, Imam dove for the biotic and rolled with her back into the light just as the creature swooped down to grab her. It screeched angrily at having its meal taken away from it and was shot at by Johns.

Panicked by the bold attack, Johns hastily fired at anything that moved, narrowly avoiding killing Fry when she appeared in front of him.

In the chaos, Riddick had disappeared and Paris was scurrying away in fear, mumbling something over and over like a mantra. Worse, he had the lighted tubes still strapped to his waist.

Shepard was immediately by their side, keeping an eye out while Jack and Imam got to their feet.

"Paris!" Fry shouted angrily. "Get back here!"

Beyond listening to reason, Paris continued into the darkness, dragging the cell being used to power the lights with him.

In a shower of sparks, each neon tube went dead, the light slowly draining away to nothing.

Fry quickly switched on a flashlight and cast the beam into the darkness, searching for the idiotic man. But when a bright flash of fire lit up the darkness briefly, followed by the sound of clicking and flesh tearing, she gave up.

Scrambling to the sled, Shepard snatched a flare and lit it, casting its green glow on the remaining survivors, trying not to dwell on the fact that there were now only seven of them left. Holding out the flare, she helped Fry light the bottles of alcohol to use as makeshift torches.

"Well, I'm glad to see you're okay," Johns grumbled, and Shepard looked up to find Riddick returning to the group.

Quietly, Shepard breathed a sigh of relief.

They couldn't do this without Riddick.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **_**I've finally figured out how to go about Shepard meeting up with Riddick again in a way that's interesting and applies appropriately to **_**Mass Effect**_** but still carries the **_**Riddick**_** feel, if that makes any sense at all. **_

_**And when this story comes to an end in a few chapters (there are probably about two or three more left) would you all like me to list it as complete and start a sequel under a new title, or would you all like me to just continue it in this story with the first chapter of the sequel taking place in **_**Mass Effect 2**_** listed as **_**"Thirteen Years Later"**_** or something like that? I'm perfectly content doing either, so whichever is more desired is what I'll do.**_

_**Also, for the record, Jack's biotics will be mentioned here and there, but they will play a larger role at a later chapter.**_

* * *

Exhaustion was something Shepard knew well, having been raised a farmer. At the crack of dawn she'd be up and working with her family and the work wouldn't stop until sundown. By the time she was able to turn in for the night, she was exhausted and asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. As tired as she got during the day, she was always able to muddle through it and complete her tasks. But the exhaustion she felt now was so very different and she each step made her feel like she'd fall over.

Everyone was tired and sore and drained from the events that had taken place since the crash. They kept up the rather fast walk, but all looked drained and were taking deep, tired breaths of air. Each and every one of them was exhausted both physically and mentally, desiring nothing more than to just sit and rest for a little while – everyone but Riddick, of course.

But stopping wasn't something they could do just yet, and truth be told Shepard didn't really want to stop walking, no matter how hard her legs and lungs demanded that she rest. The sooner they got to the skiff, the better they all would be. And so she kept walking, praying that her legs wouldn't give out.

"Reminds me of the place I grew up," Jack commented.

Shepard looked at her. "How so?"

"Sometimes the doctors had me walk and walk and walk in the gym when no one else was around, and sometimes they had me running. If I stopped, I got shocked. After I got used to walking or running for a certain amount of time, the time increased, and increased, and increased," she explained, an angry yet curious edge to her voice. "Wonder what they wanted to get outta seeing me walking and running for so long."

"Beats me," Shepard replied, but she had an idea.

Jack was obviously tired and breathing hard because of the lack of oxygen in the air, but unlike everyone else her step hadn't faltered and she hadn't slowed except for when the group's jog slowed to a walk. Perhaps the doctors with Cerberus had been trying to train her to make her into a biotic soldier or something.

Back on Mindoir and other colonies, parents had told their kids not to wander off or Cerberus would snatch them up. It was just a little scare tactic to keep the kids close, but it wasn't far from the truth. There were rumors that Cerberus had abducted biotic kids and anyone else they thought was of interest, and for the younger kids it had been quite scary to hear. It seemed so silly now, but after meeting Jack, Shepard couldn't be sure, and then there was Anderson's concern in regards to Cerberus. Once in a while When Anderson visited her family only occasion – keeping his promise to her uncle to keep an eye on them – he and her father would talk on occasion about Cerberus. Shepard and her brother were never meant to hear, but they often eavesdropped, and from the sounds of it the Alliance considered Cerberus to be an even greater threat in the future.

Whatever the deal was with them, Shepard figured she'd learn more once she enlisted in the Alliance. No matter what Riddick said about them, no matter how many bad apples there were, the Alliance had her respect and she would be honored proud to serve.

A few minutes later, feeling parched, Shepard unscrewed the cap on her canteen – each collected one earlier in the day for the mad dash back to the ship – and brought it to her lips only to discover that it was empty.

Glaring at the canteen as though it said something insanely rude to her, she removed the strap from her shoulders and threw it into the darkness. There was a shrill screech as it hit one of the creatures and she smiled in slight satisfaction that something good had come from the empty jug, but it was replaced with a deep fear that came with the knowledge that the creatures were close enough for her throw of the canteen to hit one.

"Here," said Fry, coming up beside her.

Seeing the canteen in her hand, Shepard took it but frowned when she shook it and heard only a little bit of water swishing around. "You sure?"

"Yeah," the Captain assured her. "Go ahead and finish it."

Without needing to be told twice, she took the single gulp of water gratefully before tossing the empty canteen onto the sled. After a moment, she said, "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

"No, I mean, yeah, thanks for the water, but I wasn't referring to that," she explained quietly, adjusting her hold on her alcohol torch. "Thanks for believing me about Johns. And for taking care of us. We'd all be dead if it weren't for you."

A shadow fell over Fry's face that had nothing to do with the light, and she mumbled nervously, "Yeah, uh, you're welcome."

Confused by her reaction to being thanked, she asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just tired," she reasoned with a small fake smile plastered on her face, and Shepard didn't believe her.

Before she could dig deeper, Fry's green flare went out and she turned away from Shepard to light up a torch.

Upon seeing another light get lit, Jack asked, "Are we getting close?"

Unsure and realizing they were taking longer than necessary to get to the settlement, Fry called to everyone, "Can we pick up the pace?"

Johns bristled and glared at her like a mule that had been slapped in the ass with a whip a few too many times in an attempt to get it moving. Instead of saying anything, though, he just shook his head and looked a head, only to come to a dead stop a second later.

"What?" Fry asked, moving closer to him.

Throwing the chain attached to the sled to the ground, he shined his shotgun mounted flashlight on the ground.

"What's going on?" Shepard asked, looking ahead to Fry, Johns, Imam, and Riddick, while she hung back with Jack and Suleiman.

"We crossed our own tracks," replied Fry, a note of uncertainty to her voice while Johns and Imam went to question Riddick, who had come to a stop a few feet ahead.

Unable to understand why they'd circled, Shepard stepped closer to Riddick to listen in on the conversation. She hoped to God that he hadn't gotten lost and was just wandering around for the hell of it.

What she wouldn't give for an omni-tool, if only to have been able to get a layout of the area earlier.

Currently, the devises were restricted to authorized personnel only – Alliance military, doctors, elected officials, and so only. That was likely to change in a couple of years, however, seeing as even the civilians of other species' in the galaxy had 'tools. The only reason human civilians were unable to have them was because a few officials believed too strongly that they were too dangerous and complicated to allow "mere civilians" to use them. It could be modified into a weapon, yes, but essentially it was like having an advanced computer on one's arm. Omni-tools would be a big help to anyone ranging from the lower class to upper class.

"Why have we circled?" Imam questioned tightly. "Are we lost?"

"Listen," Riddick instructed softly, almost to the point where he couldn't be heard over the loud screeching ahead.

Frustrated, Imam demanded angrily, "Do you even know where we are?"

"Listen!"

At Riddick's raised voice, Imam fell silent and listened more closely to screeching creatures ahead of them, and Shepard listened as well.

It sounded like there were a lot of them, but it was more than that. It was almost as if the noise they created was amplified, creating a loud reverberation echo. To say it was disconcerting was an understatement and she shifted from foot to foot anxiously.

"How come they sound like that?" Shepard asked, stepping a few feet away from Jack and Suleiman and closer to Riddick.

Glancing over his shoulder at her briefly, he replied, "Canyon ahead."

"And that's why we crossed our tracks? A lot of them are in there?"

He nodded. "I circled once to buy some time to think."

Sighing, Imam insisted, "I think we should go now."

"Oh, I don't know about that," Riddick drawled, cocking his head slightly in thought. "That's death row up there. Especially with the girl bleeding."

Shepard blinked and she and Fry shared a look of mutual concern and confusion.

Looking down at her hip, worried that the cut had opened, she saw that it was scabbed over and not oozing blood, so she proceeded to check her arms while Jack looked at her back to see if she was bleeding.

Fry was doing the same, and Johns looked them both up and down before asking, "The fuck you talking about? They ain't cut."

"Not them." Looking back, Riddick locked eyes with Jack. "_Her_."

Shepard closed her eyes when she realized that Riddick knew Jack was a girl, and prepared herself for the fireworks. But then she frowned. If Jack had been cut, she would have known about it, she would have told her, unless she wasn't cut and was…

Gaping, she snapped her head in her friend's direction.

The guilt on the young girls face told her that she was right in suspecting that she'd started her period.

Johns huffed out a humorless laugh. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Holding her torch defiantly, a blue aura flickering over her skin to defend herself if need be, she stammered to Fry, "I… I just thought it'd be better if people took me for a guy. I though guys might leave me alone instead of always messing with me."

"Jesus, Jack!" Fry snapped angrily, stomping over to her. "You should have told us!"

"Why didn't you tell me it was that time of the month?" Shepard demanded, shaking her head at her young friend. "I thought you trusted me."

Grabbing Shepard by the arm, Johns spun her around and hissed in her face, "This is all your fault! You knew she was a biotic and you knew the brat was a girl! You put us all at risk!"

"Shut up!" Jack screamed, her biotics glowing brightly like blue fire, the light shining brighter than the torches. Looking at Shepard and Fry, she shouted, "You both would've left me alone at the ship! All anyone gives a shit about is their own skin! You always want something from somebody! Tell me I'm wrong. Tell me you all wouldn't have voted on leaving me there!"

Silence fell on the group and Shepard and Fry looked at each other, realizing guiltily that they would have at least talked about leaving her. Shepard wouldn't have left Jack, and surely Fry wouldn't have, but they'd have talked about it.

Nodding, angry tears falling down her cheeks, Jack dropped to the ground and pulled her legs to her chest.

It dawned on Shepard that she still thought they were going to leave her behind.

Fry must have realized it too because she slowly walked over, sat on the ground beside her, and put her arm around the girl. "It's okay, honey. If you're really bleeding, we'll deal with it. We'll keep you extra close so they can't get you, okay?"

"That's right," agreed Shepard, shaking off Johns' hand and taking a seat on her other side so that she and Fry could both hold her. "We're not going to leave you. _I'm _not going to leave you."

After a moment, Jack's biotics dimmed out and she looked at both of them before offering a very small, tearing smile.

"They've had their nose open for her ever since we left," Riddick pointed out to Imam.

"And you just kept your fucking mouth shut, huh?" demanded Johns. Smirking angrily, he shook his head. "Always had a soft spot for kids."

"Look, this isn't going to work, not with Jack in danger like this," Fry announced nervously, rising to her feet. "We… We're gonna have to go back."

Shepard turned her dark blue eyes up to her, stunned.

Go back? After they made it so far? Would the lights even last the trek back?

It seemed like such a waste, returning to the ship. She didn't like Paris, but if they turned back he would have died for absolutely no reason at all. His death would be pointless.

"You want to… no, we can't turn around!" Shepard insisted, both she and Jack rising to their feet.

The biotic didn't look so sure, but had bristled more at being told they'd turn back because of her. "I can take care of myself."

"I'm sure you can," Fry assured her, looking around at each and every one of them. "But it's too dangerous to be walking around while –"

"Too dangerous?" Johns echoed incredulously, stalking towards her. Pointing at her accusingly, he pointed out, "You're the one who got us all out here in the first place and turned us into sled dogs."

Sighing heavily, the Captain replied, "I was wrong, okay? I admit it. Can we just get back to the ship, please?"

"I don't know, Carolyn," he started with an angry smile. "Nice breeze, wide open space – I'm startin' to enjoy my fuckin' self out here."

"What are you high again?" she questioned quietly. "Just listen to yourself, Johns."

Given the lack of a biotic display, Shepard doubted he was still high.

"No, no, you're right, Carolyn. What's to be afraid of? My life's just a steaming pile of meaningless shit anyhow!" he shouted in her face. "So I say mush on. Chain's only a couple hundred meters, and after that its skiff city. So why don't you butch up and stuff a cork in this fucking kid and let's go?"

Jack started forward angrily, her free hand glowing blue, but Shepard grasped her shoulder to prevent her from doing anything she'd regret. Johns needed a good punch to the face, but they couldn't afford to have a fight break out.

Moving to stand beside Fry, Imam reminded Johns, "She is the Captain. We should listen to her."

"Listen to her?" he repeated, a wicked smile replacing his angry expression. "When she was so willing to sacrifice us all?"

"What's he talking about?" Jack asked Fry, completely lost.

Shepard mirrored her confusion and looked to Fry.

When exactly had she tried to sacrifice everyone? She landed the ship and saved everyone's lives, and had continued to work her ass off to keep them all safe. As far as Shepard was concerned, Carolyn Fry was a hero.

Fry, however, knew exactly what Johns was talking about and urged not to tell. "This doesn't help us, Johns. I –"

Johns cut her off, continuing with his confession as if she hadn't said a word, and said, "During the crash she tried to blow the whole passenger cabin – tried to kill us in our sleep."

"Shut your mouth!" Fry ordered angrily.

"We are fucking disposable!" he continued, raising his voice over her, eyes challenging her to call him a liar. "We're just walkin' ghosts to you aren't we?"

"Shut your fucking blow hole!" she shouted, lunging at him.

Anticipating her attack, Johns used her momentum against her and sent the woman to the ground hard.

Looking at Shepard, Jack, Imam, Suleiman, and even to Riddick, Johns hissed, "You all treat her like some heroic Captain who saved our lives. She ain't no hero, she ain't even the Captain. She's just lucky her crew-pall stopped her from murderin' us all."

Fry made no move to get up as Johns closed in on her, intent on berating her more when Imam stepped between them.

"Fine, fine!" the older man snapped at Johns. "You made your point. We'll all be scared."

Smiling down at the defeated woman with a gleam in his eyes, Johns mocked, "Oh, Carolyn. How much do you weigh now?" Turning to Imam, he added as he lit a green flare, "Verdict's in. The light moves forward."

Quite pleased with himself, Johns walked ahead of the group, placing himself between them and Riddick.

Shepard glared at Johns back, disgusted by his mocking rant, but then her icy blue glare turned to Fry as Imam helped her to her feet.

"Was she really gonna kill us?" Jack asked quietly so that only Shepard would hear. "You think she tried to?"

"I'm going to find out," she bit out. Stalking towards Fry, she stepped directly in front of the older woman and demanded, "Is it true? Did you try to kill us?"

"I… yeah. Yeah, I panicked when we were crashing and tried to purge the passenger cabin."

"So why didn't you? Johns said your friend stopped you. Or did you just have a change of heart?" she questioned, wanting the true for once.

Fry shook her head sorrowfully. "Owens blocked the air-lock doors so I couldn't do it. I still tried a few times though. Like I said – I panicked."

Shepard gaped at her and asked, "And you're not the Captain?"

"No, but when everyone assumed I was, I thought it was best to play along, you know?" she reasoned, sounding like she was trying to convince herself more than anyone. "No one ever asked what my rank was, they just assumed –"

"That you were something you're not!" Shepard snapped angrily. "God, is it so hard for people to tell the fucking truth? You are just as bad as Johns!"

"Shepard, enough," Imam scolded, putting his hand on her shoulder.

Swallowing the lump in her throat, shaking with anger, she hissed, "Johns pretended to be a cop, and you pretended to be the Captain, and you give him shit for doing it. Johns is bad, but you'd better take a good look in the mirror, Fry!" Before Fry could say anything, Shepard shrugged off Imam's hand and took hold of one of the chains on the sled. "We going to get moving or what?"

Sighing, hurt by Shepard's words, Fry nodded and mimicked her actions by picking up one of the chains. Together, the five of them started pulling the sled, trailing a few feet behind Johns and Riddick.

Shepard knew that she'd said some things that were incredibly unfair and wrong, but so help her she wanted Fry to hurt. She'd trusted her, looked up to her, and she'd tried to kill them all then covered her ass by playing Captain with the group. Technically, Shepard had lied in a similar way by leading everyone to believe Jack was a boy and her brother, but that had been for the little girl's safety. It was very different, their reasons for lying, and she was wounded by Fry's lies and secrets.

Looking ahead, Shepard had to keep herself from dropping the chain to go walk with Riddick. She didn't expect to talk to him or anything, but at least she knew he wouldn't lie to her or give her pity or apologize for anything that was going on. He offered a kind of cold comfort that she liked, whether he knew he was giving her comfort or not. Though she did want to know how he found out Jack was a girl and how he knew she was on her period.

Releasing a heavy, withdrawn sigh, she decided against going to him and instead fell into step with Imam. At least the Muslim priest hadn't lied to her, that was something.

* * *

Just as Riddick had predicted, the group was tearing itself apart person by person. First it was Johns and now it was Fry. Her little secret would have come to light sooner or later, but it might have been better for people to have learned it sooner. Out in the darkness with everyone at each others throats… Riddick didn't have to point out to them how dangerous that was, and it further convinced him that it might be nearing the time to ditch them and make the journey to the skiff on his own.

Wandering farther ahead than necessary so he could think in peace, he sighed.

He was a fool for letting the other survivors tag along for this long, and things could only get worse the longer they all stayed together. What he should have done was left them to flail around in the dark, wait for the creatures to pick them off once the lights went out, and then drag the cells to the skiff. Better yet, he could have killed them himself, one by one, quick and painlessly – except Johns, who he'd make suffer. What pissed him off was that fucking whisper in the back of his head telling him not to harm them, but to help them. That little whisper was going to cost him his ass if he didn't watch himself.

In reality, there were only three in the group who he could kill with minimal to zero guilt – Imam, Fry, and Johns. Johns he would enjoy killing, but the other two wouldn't be very enjoyable at all. Imam was a holy man who'd given him no problems, and Fry had nearly become a killer like him but was now playing mama bear to the group. Those two adults, he wouldn't feel great for dispatching.

But Jack, Shepard, and the boy Suleiman?

The notion of killing them did give him pause.

Jack was a little girl, and as a personal rule he didn't hurt kids. Kids were as innocent as anyone could be, and even though Jack had been psychologically scarred in some way and had killed people, there was the potential for change that adults almost always lacked in his eyes.

Suleiman was just a kid who was roughly sixteen by the looks of it and had given him no trouble, thus making Riddick rather indifferent to him.

As for Shepard, he wasn't so sure why the thought of killing her bothered him. The girl wasn't a child but she wasn't an adult, she had an innocence to her but had killed batarians and had been through hell, she was strong willed and a fighter, but she was also more than a little sensitive. She was a contradiction, and he rather liked what he saw in her. Above all else, she'd stuck her neck out for him multiple times when she had no reason to – the water she'd brought him, standing up for him when Zeke died, and other things. Maybe that was why he wasn't thrilled in the slightest about the prospect of murdering her – she was a contradiction wrapped into a young package and was one of the few people who seemed to have a truly good heart despite the hell she'd been through.

This was the problem with being around the same people for too long. The word "friend" did not exist in Riddick's vocabulary because it always ended badly for both parties involved, and he didn't want to add the word to his vocabulary now. Emotions got in the way and screwed with his instincts and his way of going about surviving in life or death situations, and so he ground his teeth together and proceeded forward, only to catch the glimpse of the bright flare coming into view to his left as Johns approached him.

All he wanted was to be left alone. Was that too much to ask for?

Falling into step beside Riddick, Johns stated, "Ain't all of us gonna make it."

"You just realizing that?" the convict questioned, raising his hand to shield his eyes from the brightness of the flare.

Johns caught on to his discomfort and shifted the flare to so that it was farther away from Riddick.

Lowering his hand, he was instantly put on edge. The merc always looked for ways to make Riddick uncomfortable, only accommodate him by holding the light away? There was no doubt that Johns wanted something.

"Seven of us left," Johns mused with a thoughtful expression, Shepard's rings catching the light of his flare. "If could make it through the canyon and lose just one that'd be quite a feat, huh?"

"Not if I'm the one," he replied.

"Well, what if you're one of six?"

A creature flying by with a screech caught Johns' attention, but not Riddick's.

The prospect of getting through the canyon without signing up for a seat on death row was tempting, and so he replied cautiously, "I'm listening."

"Battle field doctors decide who lives and dies. It's called triage," Johns explained.

Glancing at him, he retorted, "Kept callin' it murder when I did it."

The merc chuckled, nodding slightly with a smile. "Either way, I figure it's something you could grab onto."

"So what were you thinking?" Riddick questioned, curious. "Hack up a body? Leave it at the start of the canyon like a bucket of bait?"

Shaking his head, he said, "There's over fifty feet of cable. Attach it to the sled, and we drag the body about forty, fifty feet behind us."

"Nice embellishment," Riddick complimented dryly.

It sounded like Johns had put more than a little thought into the plan.

"I don't want feed 'em, I just want to keep 'em off our scent," he explained with a shrug.

Nodding fractionally, Riddick looked back at the group. "So, which one caught your eye?"

When he looked back, he noticed that the five people seemed to be legitimately concerned by his and Johns' sudden buddy-buddy nature. Catching Shepard's worried eyes, her earlier words rang like a bell in his head.

"_Can we trust you, Riddick? You know, not to screw us over and all?"_

He looked away a second later, while at the same time Johns scolded, "Don't look! Christ, what the hell's wrong with you?"

"Only curious about who you're lookin' to serve to these bad boys on a platter."

"I was thinkin' that either the little girl or Shepard would fit the bill. The kid's ringin' the damn dinner bell, and Shepard, well, she's causin' me more trouble than she's worth. You know what? How 'bout both of 'em?" he asked, mulling over the plan in his head for a moment. "I'll tell the others that we're takin' a break, and you can lure both Jack and Shepard away from the mother hens one at a time. Both trust you for whatever reason, so it shouldn't be difficult. Just make sure you give me some time with Shepard, will you? I've got a promise to her I've gotta keep," he said, smiling sadistically and thumbing the rings on the chain around his neck.

Riddick had theorized that Johns had made some kind of threat to Shepard, but not he fully understood why she'd been so freaked after confronting him. The twisted fuck had threatened to rape her, and apparently she'd broken whatever promise that kept him from raping her. With the promise out the window, Johns was looking to collect.

"Gettin' them alone will be easy," Riddick agreed. "But hacking them up? I don't know about that."

"Don't tell me it's too big a job for you," Johns taunted as both men came to a stop facing one another.

"No. I'm just wondering if we don't need a bigger piece of bait."

Johns sighed. "Like who?"

Their eyes met, and realization hit Johns like a tidal wave.

A second later their deal was made void and the two men lunged at each other.

Knocking the flare away, Riddick grabbed for the shotgun and attempted to blow Johns' brains out, but the shot went out into the darkness as the merc brought his arm up to block the shot. Two more shots rang out as the two grappled with the gun, squeals and screeches from the creatures echoing around them as they were shot.

Johns aimed a blow to Riddick's chin, knocking him off balance enough to wrestle the gun away and dislocate Riddick's left elbow.

Enraged by the act, the pain instantaneous, Riddick punched Johns' square in the face, grabbing at the thin chain around his neck and ripping it off as the merc nearly fell into some sharp bones protruding from the dirt.

White hot pain shot up Riddick's arm, but he bit it back. He and pain were old cell mates, and a dislocated elbow was far from the worst injury he'd ever received. So, tossing the necklace away, he grasped his forearm and popped it back into its socket with a grunt. He stood there for a moment while Johns shifted his weight from one foot to the other anxiously, waiting for him to make his move.

Riddick was in no rush, a plan already formulating in his head as he removed the belt of lights to hold tightly in his hand as he and the other man circled each other. Hundreds of prison fights had taught him one thing – rushing headlong into a fight ended badly, and it was better to be patient and wait for the opponent to make a costly mistake. Still, it was hard to remain patience, cool, and collected when the primal rage itched at his muscles, willing him to lash out. The rage he felt deep down at constantly be caught by Johns, other mercs, and towards all the shit in his life made his blood boil, but there was more to the rage than he could explain. Ever since he was a kid, he'd been angry, like something bad had happened that he'd been unable to stop, but couldn't remember what had happened. However unexplainable the rage was, it was as much a part of him as his vital organs were. But he'd learned to control it and use it to his advantage. He would not be dominated by any emotion.

All around them the winged creatures flew, waiting like vultures hungry for a fresh kill. The creatures didn't swoop down to boldly come into the circle of green light, but waited, sensing that one of the men will do their job of killing.

When his back was to the light, Riddick stopped and removed his shiv, and Johns pulled out his small knife. The murderer could see him perfectly with the light shining against his back, but the merc had to squint against the light flickering in his eyes.

"One rule," Riddick announced coolly before knocking the blade from his opponents hand and nailing him in the face with the lights and belt, sending him to the ground. "Stay in the light."

Tensing, Johns elongated his baton and swung back at him, knock his legs out from under him before pinning him to the ground with his weight. He tried to take a swing at his head, but Riddick dislodged the baton from his grasp, forcing Johns to make a grab from Riddick's fallen shiv.

The shiv came within inches of Riddick's face and he held tight to Johns wrist to keep from being stabbed, but while Johns was using all his strength to try to kill him, Riddick was using only half of his to keep him at bay.

"Remember that moment?" Riddick whispered, and a flicker of fear flashed through Johns' eyes a split second before he was knocked to his back.

Johns scrambled to get to his feet, but he was too slow, and by the time he was standing Riddick had cut a deep wound into his back with his shiv, sending him sprawling into the dirt once again.

"You should never have taken the chains off, Johns," Riddick pointed out coldly, retrieving the belt of lights as well as Shepard's rings from the chain Johns had been wearing. As the green light of the flare faded, he continued, "You were one brave fuck before. You were Billy Badass."

On a panic with the light gone out completely, the injured man retrieved his shotgun and hurriedly began reloading it.

"The chains, the gauge, the badge…" Riddick trailed off as he let the darkness swallow him whole. "I told you to ghost me."

By the time Johns got to his feet and aimed his shotgun in the direction of Riddick's voice, his target at moved away to watch from behind a large bone as the creatures circled their injured prey, completely ignoring the uninjured man.

Spinning wildly, desperately, Johns fired blindly as one of the creatures came in close, knocking him back to the ground. He got to his knees just in time to see the creature hurrying towards him, and he fired his weapon.

The shell ejected, unable to fire, and Johns realized too late that he'd loaded one of his shells filled with a baggy of red-sand into his weapon.

Before he could correct his mistake, the creature reared up and stabbed him in the chest with the two spear-like bones that shot out of his wrists, balancing itself on its tail while its wings flapped softly.

Blood gushed from the merc's mouth as he spasmed, clearly in agony but unable to do anything about it as the hellish creature clamped its mouth over his head, ripping it from his body.

All the while, Riddick watched, only moving once he was certain the monsters wouldn't give a shit about him, and he made his way back to the frighten group that had run away, pocketing the two rings.

He approached the abandoned sled and shook his head in disappointment. What he should have done then was take the sled and move through the canyon alone, but instead he went in search of the five others. If he was going to go through that canyon, he might end up needing some bait in the long run. At least, that was his explanation to himself for not wanting to leave without them.

When at last he found them, he jogged ahead to block their path.

Their eyes were all over the place, but none of them saw him until Fry nearly ran into him with a shocked cry.

"Back to the ship, huh?" Riddick asked as they all huddled together like he was a predator ready to kill them. "Just huddle together until the lights run out?"

"Stay away from us," Fry warned with Shepard holding onto her arm. In her fear, the young woman must have forgiven Fry for her deception, or could at least move on.

Rather than listen, he took a step forward. "So you can't see what's eating you? Is _that _the big plan?"

"Where's Johns?" Imam demanded, keeping his pupil behind him.

"Which half?"

Shepard blanched, and a flicker of hope flashed across her face. "Johns is dead?"

Riddick nodded, and she released a small sigh of relief.

Jack, on the other hand, looked fearful and worried as she turned her attention to the darkness.

"We're gonna lose everybody out here," she muttered shakily, more upset about their dwindling numbers than for Johns. Still her eyes welled up with tears for the fallen merc. "We should've stayed at the ship."

If only she knew what he'd had planned for both her and Shepard.

"He died fast. If we have any say about it, that's how we should all go," he said, walking over to the young girl as the fears of the others was put at ease slightly. Coming to stand directly behind Jack, he leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Don't you cry for Johns. Don't you dare."

Standing as close as she was to Jack, Shepard was just able to make out his words and she frowned, her eyes asking the questions she didn't voice.

He shook his head slightly, and then started walking back to the abandoned sled.

Without needing to be told, the survivors followed close behind. Whether they were afraid of him or not didn't matter. They had no choice but to trust him.

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_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **_**Sorry that it took me a while to update. I've got a bad habit of "falling out of love" with a story for a while, not writing, then "falling back in love" with it, writing again, and then the process repeats. It's a lousy habit but it happens. Playing the new **_**Citadel-DLC**_** got me back into the swing of things.**_

_**For the sake of convenience, I'm going to include the sequel in this story. I'll just make sure to put a title on a chapter.**_

_**And I haven't yet decided on whether or not Fry dies. I'm still brainstorming on that, but feel free to offer your input. I am, however, going to include the events of **_**The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury**_** – if you haven't seen it, that's the animated movie that directly follows the events of **_**Pitch Black**_**. I wasn't going to include it at first, but I've recently developed an idea that I think I can make work that will bring some foreshadowing for the events of **_**Mass Effect 2**_**. That being said, there will be same major changes to **_**Dark Fury**_** so that it fits with what I've got planned. Hopefully, it all goes well and I don't end up mucking all of this up, and the sequel will take place following the **_**Dark Fury**_** events.**_

* * *

Being happy over someone's death was wrong, but Shepard couldn't help but feet overly relieved and happy that Johns was dead. After what turning on her the way he did and taking her parents' rings, he deserved what he got.

Looking over at Riddick who sat with Imam by some bones father away, she was tempted to go ask where the corpse was so she could search for the rings. It was a fool's hope, though. The likelihood that the rings were still only the body were slim to none because of the creatures feeding on, and it might not even be in the same place anymore.

She removed the brown leather bag from her back and hugged it tightly against her chest, resigned to the fact that she wouldn't be getting those rings back.

"What's that?" Fry asked gently, nodding towards the bag.

"It was my brother's," she replied, resting her chin on it and picking at a thread on a strap. "I've got a few other family things inside it. It's all I have left of them."

Fry nodded and fell silent again, keeping her eyes on the flickering fire from the alcohol torch.

Shepard worried on her lower lip and watched the older woman for several seconds, feeling guilt latch onto her heart like a cold hand. She'd been wrong to act how she did back there, but in the heat of the moment she hadn't given a damn and had wanted her to hurt. If her mother were alive, she'd be ashamed of how Shepard had acted. And after praying with Imam, she really did feel lower than dirt now.

"I vote we all go on vacation together after this over," Shepard muttered suddenly, deciding to salvage what could be of the mess and make light of things.

Fry glanced up at her and stared for a moment before she replied with the hint of a smile, "Somewhere really sunny."

"With regular air," Jack added.

Looking at Suleiman, Shepard said, "And an omni-tool with a translator."

Seeing the three staring at him, the boy frowned and asked them something in Arabic, to which Shepard just shrugged and gave him a thumbs up and a smile. He relaxed and in turn smiled back, also giving her a thumbs up, and soon they were all smiling and laughing softly.

"One of the universal signs, a thumbs up," Fry speculated with a soft smile. "Along with flipping someone off."

"And a gunshot."

Jack cocked her head. "What's that a sign of?"

"Back on the farm, there was a group of kids who liked vandalizing and stealing things," Shepard explained, digging through the bag to find the photo-album on the data-pad. Once she found it, she scrolled through the photos as her throat tightened until she found her dad posing with his new rifle, then showed the others the photo. "Dad got sick of finding things messed up, so he bought that high-powered rifle. When the kids came around, he'd be hiding and would fire a series of shots at their feet and send them running. He, uh, he said it was the equivalent of saying 'get the fuck off my property' but with more kick."

Both Fry and Jack laughed – Suleiman chuckled but more so that he felt included – and they continued to sift through the photos on the 'pad with Shepard's consent. She opted against looking at the photos with them, not wanting the emotions to come back any more than they already had. Maybe one day she could go through each and every photo without wanting to cry or getting really angry, but for now she could only look at one on occasion.

A few minutes later and some comments about how Shepard looked silly in a dress, Fry handed her back the album. "Looks like your family was close."

She nodded, the thick lump preventing her from talking.

"Listen, sweetie," Fry started. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you the truth. I'm sorry I didn't tell anyone the truth. Kind of hoped I could just forget about it, you know?"

Trying not to get angry about the lie, she replied quietly, "We've all done things we want to forget. Doesn't make it right, but…" She sighed, shaking her head and giving up on arguing, too tired to do so. "No point dwelling on the past, is there?"

"No, I guess not," the older woman conceded, a look of relief washing over her face before the guilt clouded over her light blue eyes.

Fry wouldn't be letting go of her past any sooner than Shepard would be letting go of hers, and they both knew it. With how tight Jack's features were as she stared into the fire, perhaps she too was unable to let go.

Before anyone could strike up a new topic, Riddick walked over with Imam right behind him, neither men looking too thrilled for whatever reason.

"Time to move," Riddick announced coolly as Imam picked up the ropes that now held only the cells since they'd already ditched the sled.

Shepard sighed, rising to her feet as he walked by. "On your feet ladies, Suleiman – Mr. Riddick just might crack that whip a little harder if we don't move it."

Both Fry and Jack smiled, barely managing to suppress their giggles while the boy just smiled, playing along while he went to help Imam drag the cells.

Looking towards Riddick, she spotted him giving her a look through his black goggles, and she tried not to smile wider at the mild annoyance written over his features. Obviously, he wasn't used to being the butt of some teen girl's jokes, or any jokes for that matter that weren't a cause for violence.

Rather than shrink away from his stare like she wanted to, she did the opposite and smiled innocently, causing him to shake his head slightly and look away as he started walking towards the canyon.

Shepard bit back a grin and took a relieved breath that he hadn't come over and ripped her head off.

It wasn't like she hadn't wanted to shrink away from his stare because she had, Riddick being understandably intimidating, but she'd decided that she'd try a new tactic for masking her fear or insecurities. Acting skittish or afraid wouldn't get her anywhere and now that Johns was gone she felt free to try to move forward without having to be afraid of him. So, she decided that she'd mask her fear or worry or whatever with humor, dry wit, and a smile. The tactic was a work in progress and she was sure she'd have to work on her poker face in front of a mirror if she survived this chaos, but hopefully it would help her be able to avoid displaying any fear in the future.

Nearing the canyon, the echoing screeches of the creatures grew in intensity, as did the scratching of their claws against the rocks and the flapping of their dark wings. Under normal circumstances they'd be walking away from the menacing noise, but they instead walked directly towards it as their salvation lay just through the canyon. If they went around, their lights would burn out, and the same went for if they just sat around and waited for the suns to rise.

"Think I can use my biotics now?" Jack mumbled, keeping close to Shepard as she walked a few paces behind Riddick.

"Jack," she started, jumping slightly as a creature swooped down low to spook them. "The way I see it, use all the biotic powers you want if it means staying alive. No point in hiding anymore."

Jack smirked. "Cool, but I was only asking for the sake of doing so – was gonna use them whether you said I could or not."

Shepard glanced at her and then smiled, patting her young friend on the shoulder. As the came upon the canyon entrance, the smile left, replaced with a frown as the hellish echoes turned into roaring screeches with the close proximity. Beside her, Jack too had lost her smirk.

Riddick, walking further ahead to get a better look, was the only one who didn't seem to be the least bit afraid. Nothing about what was going on seemed to scare him in the slightest, and she was more than a little curious as to why that was, but now was not the time to be asking him about such things. Chances were that he wouldn't give her an answer at all whether the timing was bad or good.

"We've got four bottles – all near empty – and Jack's flashlight," Fry said to no one in particular, looking over everyone's lights. "Should be enough to get us through in one piece."

"Let's hope so," Shepard replied, examining her bottle.

After getting a feel for the area and scoping out the creatures with his shined eyes, Riddick returned and looked into the dark canyon. "Only see one way," he began, pointing directly into the darkness. "That way. It's the only way off this rock."

Frowning, Shepard asked, "What about Jack? We take her through there and we might as well be ringing the dinner bell."

"Hey!" Jack snapped, offended. "I can take care of myself."

"That's beside the point," she argued.

Walking between them towards Imam and Suleiman, he said, "Just keep her between all of you."

Imam handed off the ropes for the cells, as did the boy, and he asked, "What about the cells?"

"I'll take those," he replied.

Shepard nodded, figuring that was for the best since he was the strongest, but then she noticed the look of apprehension on Fry's face. The lack of trust in her eyes was incredibly concerning and she looked back at Riddick, watching him put his goggles back on. She didn't think he'd leave them behind, did she?

Surely he wouldn't, not after getting them this far. Then again, maybe abandoning them had been his plan all along. While they carried the lights, he dragged the cells. Maybe all they were to him were disposable torch bearers.

Shepard shook her head a few times, forcing those thoughts away. Riddick wouldn't turn on them like that. He wouldn't, and she needed to believe that.

Taking a deep breath, Riddick ordered, "Move."

Fry glanced back at him and asked, "Are you sure you can keep up?"

"Move!"

Kicked into gear with his order repeated on a shout, they began running as if they were taking part in some horrific death-race where the winners were permitted to continue breathing. Technically, perhaps what they were doing could be considered a death-race – if they didn't make it to the finish line that was the skiff, they were dead.

The creatures seemed startled by the suddenness of their running and at first did nothing, staring at them in the darkness, but then they went on the offensive. The first to come at them were the smallest of the monsters – the swarm that had torn Shazza in half.

Noticing that little light was on Riddick, Shepard hurried back beside him, casting the orange glow of her torch on them both as the swarm cloaked them all like a dark cloud from hell. Only at the last second did the little creatures dart around and over them, scalded by their lights.

And then something odd happened.

Blue liquid started pouring down on Shepard and the others, matting her hair and sticking to her clothes and skin.

The young woman held her hand out as she ran to catch the blue fluid and moved it around between her fingers, realizing that it was sticky, and started to look up along with the others to see what was going on.

"Do not look up!" Riddick commanded, quickening his pace.

She snapped her head down, obeying his command, but Fry did not and cast her gaze upwards.

"Do not look up!" he shouted again, but she was beyond hearing him, horrified by what she was seeing.

Gaping, she gasped, "They're killing each other!"

Shepard instantly felt more than a little nauseous. They were all being coated in the creatures' blood.

Just before a corpse could crush Fry, Riddick bulldozed into her, forcing her to renew her running.

Shepard Stayed behind a ways with Riddick, making sure he had light on him while they all dodged the falling bodies of the mangled and shredded monsters trying to kill them, and she tried to ignore the trickle of blue blood running down her hair and onto her face.

Up ahead, the narrow passage they needed to go through was blocked by broken bone and the corpses of the creatures, bringing the desperate survivors to a pause as they weighed their options.

Riddick already had a solution to the problem.

Go through it.

"Move! Keep moving!" he shouted, pushing to the front of the group to clear some of the bones from their path. "Keep moving!"

Imam handed his torch off to Fry and went to work helping Riddick clear a small hole for them all to crawl through past a corpse.

Riddick went through first and continued on without waiting as Imam followed and helped Jack, then Shepard and Fry. Last to follow was Suleiman, but he lingered behind to long, and just as Shepard began moving towards Riddick to tell him to slow down, a pained cry whipped her around and she gasped in horror.

The creature they thought was dead was in fact still alive and it had sunk its talons deep into Suleiman's calf.

Grabbing ahold of the pilgrim's arms, Imam began a desperate game of tug-of-war while the boy's torch fell to the ground in a mess of glass and liquor. Fry and Shepard huddled over them, keeping the light on them and trying to cause enough pain to the creature to force it to release the boy. Just when it seemed hopeless, the liquor from the fallen bottle caught fire and in a sudden burst of light the creature let go, frightened away, and Imam was able to pull him through the gap to safety.

Seeing the gaping wounds on Suleiman's leg, Shepard promptly set her bottle down and unbuckled her belt. "Imam, your turban – lose it!"

Catching on, he nodded and pulled it off his head without a second thought and wrapped it around the boy's wounded leg.

Farther away, Jack called out, "Riddick, wait!"

Shepard looked up as she removed her belt and looped it around the turban to keep it in place. Seeing just how far away Jack was, she shouted, "Get over here!"

Ignoring her, the girl shouted, "Riddick!"

The convict was far ahead but he undoubtedly heard her by how he cocked his head in her direction. In that second, Shepard realized grimly that there was a very real possibility that Riddick would just leave each and every one of them to die a horrible death at the claws of the merciless creatures.

Watching Jack while Imam buckled her belt around Suleiman's leg, something above the girl caught her eye. Before Shepard could stop to examine what the thing was, she screamed, "Jack!"

Jack swung her flashlight towards her and then looked up upon hearing some loud screeching. Without a second to spare, she dropped her light and threw up her hands, her biotics forming a bright blue barrier around her. The creature kept coming and slammed into her barrier with enough force to knock her to her back, but she kept it up, even as it ignored the pain of her biotic light and ran around her, flew into the air, and slammed back into her barrier in search of a weakness.

Both Shepard and Fry scrambled towards her to help, neither knowing how long she could keep the barrier up without becoming exhausted.

Fry, having left one of her torches with Imam, started waving her remaining torch at the creature while Shepard waved both hers and the fallen flashlight at it. The combination of their light and the biotic glow was burning the creature, causing its skin to bubble into blisters and sores before they popped, seeming bluish fluid. But it still would not back off. Having gone for so long without food, it wasn't leaving Jack alone.

"Get off of her!" Fry shouted, getting as close as she dared.

Holding her hands out in front of her, Jack pleaded, "I can't keep this up forever, guys! Get this thing away from me!"

"You're the hyped up biotic!" Shepard snapped, casting her flashlight's beam on the creature and causing it to howl in pain. "Do something about it!"

Jack glanced at her, panic, fear, and anger written all over her face, and she then slowly brought her hands closer to her, her teeth grinding together with concentration. The blue that was her barrier grew brighter with each passing second until it was so bright that they were all bathed in light, making the creature scream and wail in pain as it desperately rammed into her barrier from all sides, whipping its tail at Shepard and smashing her flashlight.

With a loud scream, Jack thrust her hands forward, unleashing a powerful biotic shockwave that sent the creature into the canyon wall a few feet away with enough force to knock the wind out of it. She then rolled, scrambling to her feet and moving to Shepard who grabbed her, pulling her behind her and Fry as the creature recovered angrier than before, slowly stalking towards them.

A loud roar-like shout came from ahead and the creature turned around just as Riddick came running at it out of the darkness with his goggles moved off of his eyes, grasping it by its wrists as it made to grab him.

Shepard had thought he'd gone off and left them.

Enraged and frustrated and hungry, it snapped its sharp teeth at him, trying to bite off his head or sink its teeth into his shoulders. It was still oozing blue blood from the burns it had sustained from the lights and the wounds from being slammed into the canyon wall from the shockwave. It hissed then, showing its teeth, and reared back its ugly head to rip his from his body.

Riddick was ready.

Releasing its wrists, he grabbed it by the throat with one hand and started slashing wildly at its abdomen with his shiv, causing it to wail in agony as its intestines spilled out onto the dirt in a steaming pile of blood and gore. And then it fell to the ground, trembling as it died, and Riddick finished the job by breaking its neck with a sickening crack.

Breathing heavily from the lack of oxygen, Riddick stared down at the steaming heap of organs, blood, and flesh, and said quietly, "Did not know who it was fucking with."

Shepard shifted her footing, her arm going protectively around Jack, and Riddick snapped his black pearl-like eyes to her, the girl, and Fry, staring at them with an unreadable expression. All she knew was that he hadn't left but had instead risked his neck to save them from the advancing creature when he didn't have to.

The squealing renewed in force seconds later, drawing their attention skyward.

"Keep Jack close, and keep moving!" Riddick ordered, jogging back to the cells and picking up the ropes before he continued running.

The three hurried back to Imam and Suleiman, helping the boy to his feet so they could all make the run behind Riddick together. They were determined not to lose anyone else in this nightmare, having lost too many friends already.

The young pilgrim kept stumbling, forcing them to stop for at least a few seconds to fix his tourniquet or to breathe. He did his hardest to keep up with Imam's help, but only halfway through the canyon he stumbled again and didn't get up right away as he panted, his wounded leg becoming too much for him to bear. Imam was speaking to him in Arabic, saying whatever he could to keep his spirits up, but with each passing second Shepard felt her fear rising. They couldn't keep stopping like this to let Suleiman catch his breath or rest, not when they had so little liquor left for their lights, but they couldn't just leave the boy behind, at least Shepard couldn't.

"Shepard," Imam started, holding out his torch. "Take this."

Nodding, she took the torch so he could lift the boy and carry him the rest of the way.

When something wet dripped onto her head and bare shoulders, her heart sank, fearing that another bloodbath from above had begun. But these drops were cold and not sticky, sliding down her arms and dampening her hair before streaming down her face. The torches began flickering from both a lack of fuel as well as becoming dampened. Upon looking up to the sky, Shepard realized in horror that it was raining, and with each passing second the drizzle started coming down hard and hard, thunder rumbling in the distance.

Holding out her hand to catch the drops of water as it turned into a downpour, Fry gaped, watching the lights flicker. "Oh, no…"

Amidst the sound of the pouring rain was the sound of Riddick's humorless laugh, his face turned up towards the rain. Looking to Imam, the dark smile on his face slowly disappearing, he asked, "So where the hell is your God now?"

The Muslim's frowned darkened and he looked away, his internal struggle with his faith evident on his worn and tired face.

Ignoring the exchange, Shepard hurried under a little crevice as her light began flickering out, followed by Fry, Jack, Imam, and Suleiman in a desperate attempt to preserve their torches. The flame did flicker out eventually despite the scant amount of fuel and both Fry and Jack brought their flames close to the wick, trying in vain to relight it. Beside them, Imam tightened Suleiman's tourniquet.

Staring at her torch with contempt, Shepard set it on the ground and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. She was absolutely freezing, the temperature having dropped and the rain cold. The others were cold to, shivering in the rain.

Riddick wandered ahead a ways, leaving the cells behind to get a look at what lay above the hill. He was shivering as well, but he gave no other indication that he was cold.

Worried that their remaining lights would die soon as well, Fry called, "Riddick, are we close?"

He said nothing, only continued peering into the never-ending darkness, thinking.

Fry's nerves were already frayed with panic and she begged, "Just tell me that the settlement is right there!"

He stood unmoving for another few seconds before he said quietly, almost going unheard under the screeching creatures, "We can't make it."

Shepard stared at him, unable to believe it. After coming so close, after surviving the canyon, they weren't going to make it to the settlement. It all seemed so pointless, all the death and the pain of running across the desert just to be forced to stop by something as simple as rain and lack of light.

A cry beside her tore her attention away from Riddick and she gasped as a tail wrapped tight around Suleiman's neck, ranking him up the canyon wall and out of Imam's grasp. She instantly grabbed Jack, as did Fry, both women protecting the girl from being snatch away.

Imam dropped to knees with his arms stretched up towards Suleiman as he disappeared, crying out in sorrow and disbelief in Arabic.

Stunned by the sudden loss, Shepard released Jack and moved towards Imam. She wrapped her arms around him, offering him what little comfort she could as he sobbed for the loss of the boy he'd taken on their pilgrimage. She wanted to say something, anything to make him feel better, but she could do nothing more than sit with him in the mud as rain poured down on them.

But they couldn't just stay out there in the open.

Looking to the convict, she said desperately, "Riddick…" She tried to think of what to say, of what to ask him for, but she didn't know. She really didn't know.

Riddick looked from the darkness to her, and back again, seemingly torn between whatever was going on in his head. Then he was moving, walking towards her quickly before grabbing her arm and pulling her away from Imam.

She pulled against his hold, but he just held tighter and said, "Trust me."

She blinked at him and then nodded, ceasing her struggle when she realized that she did trust him and that the others were following after them.

Finding a cave-like structure, he released her and pushed the large rock out of the way with some effort. Grabbing her again, he shoved her inside, giving her a look that made her wonder if her trust in him was misplaced. He almost looked… sorry.

Turning away before she could read too much into it, he shouted to the others, "Hide here! Now!"

They all hurried in, cramming themselves inside like sardines in a can. Riddick muscular bulk certainly wouldn't help things. But he didn't come inside. Just as they got situated, he pushed the rack back inform of the entrance, sealing them inside.

Shepard stared at the rock, shivering, waiting for him to tell them that he'd be back for them after scouting out ahead. But he said nothing. He was still there, that much she could tell from the light of his lights shining through the gap.

"Why's he still out there?" Jack asked, voicing the question in everyone's heads.

Frowning, Shepard asked hesitantly, "Riddick, what's going on?"

When he said nothing, she hurried over, rising to her toes to peer out the gap. Unable to get a good look, she shoved her arm through the small gap to get his attention. Rain pelted her hand that the screeching made her heart race. Was he even still out there? As she was getting ready to pull her hand back, she felt him grab her wrist with a gentleness she hadn't expected from him, forcing her palm upward. He pressed something cool into her hand, and she blinked in confusion as he closed her fingers around the chain before letting go.

She brought her arm back into the cave and walked over to the flickering lights. Upon looking at what was in her hand, tears stung her eyes and her heart sank to her stomach. It was her parents' wedding rings, looped onto Johns' chain.

"What'd he give you those for?" Jack asked, a worried frown forming on her young face.

Shepard looked to Fry, meeting her eyes, and they both knew why he'd given them to her.

Riddick was leaving them behind to die.

Swallowing thickly, trying to keep it together for the girl, Fry muttered, "Pour all the liquor into one bottle. Might buy us some more time."

Shepard snorted and Imam threw her a disapproving look.

She just sighed and moved off to sit in the farthest part of the cave with her empty bottle and rings. The backpack provided some cushioning against the rocks, but she didn't give a damn about the pain that was or wasn't there. She'd trusted Riddick and he'd stabbed her in the back. She couldn't feel more stupid if she tried. Idly, she slipped the chain around her neck and figured the rings lovingly. At least he gave them back to her, that was something she supposed.

What was the point of surviving Mindoir only to die in some cave or by being torn to shreds? What was the point of it all?

_Should've died on Mindoir with my family_, she thought grimly, pulling her knees up to her chest.

Imam came to sit beside her but said nothing, choosing to join her in her misery instead. He put his hand on her shoulder after a moment, squeezing it gently. Any other time she would have taken comfort from the action, but not this time. This time she felt nothing but more pain.

In front of them, Fry and Jack finished filling the bottle, making it look a little less empty. It was a fool's effort, as far as Shepard was concerned.

Jack stared into the dwindling flame, a sad look crossing over her face as she shivered. Sighing, she asked no one in particular, "He's not coming back, is he?"

Shepard's heart constricted, bringing her out of her despair long enough to remember that she wasn't the only one who was going to die. Crawling over, she situated herself on the other side of Jack and hooked her arm around her, holding her close while Fry did the same.

Now _this _was not fair. It was not fair that Jack would never have a chance to live a real life because of Riddick's choice.

"Did Riddick say anything to you?" Fry asked quietly. "When he handed you your rings?"

Shepard shook her head. "No. He didn't say a word."

Fry let the subject drop, and unsure of what else to say, they lapsed into an uncomfortably silence. All they could do was watch as the flame slowly flickered down to a dim glow. The extra liquor had bought them nothing more than a few extra seconds at best and their hopes began dying with each flicker of light until at last it faded out completely, plunging them into darkness.

Like vultures hovering over them, the creatures landed just outside the cave and scratched lightly at the rock, wishing to be inside and claim them as their meal. It would all be over soon.

Shaking, Shepard looked at Jack, giving the girl her most apologetic smile.

Jack smiled back fractionally and shrugged.

That was when Shepard noticed something peculiar. The fire had gone out, but Jack saw her smile, and she saw Jack smile back.

Jack too noticed it, and so did the others.

"Are you using your biotics?" Imam questioned, looking at the blue glow that illuminated the cave.

She shook her head. "It's not me."

Looking around for the source, the young blond looked up and a slow smile tugged at her lips. "My God… look."

They all looked up to find little worms hugging the low ceiling and walls, glowing like blue fireflies.

Each rising to their feet, Imam reached up and gingerly pulled two from the ceiling to hold in his hands, showing them to the three. The worms wiggled around in his hands sluggishly, glowing bright and bring a smile to their faces.

"What are they?" Shepard asked, curious.

"Who cares?" Jack questioned, still smiling. "They're _glowing_! We have light!"

With their hope renewed, Fry unscrewed all three bottles then held her hand out to Shepard and said, "Give me your knife."

She pulled the knife from the sheath and handed it to her, watching as she started scraping away the label of a bottle. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to stuff these bottles to the rim with those things, and then I'm going to go drag Riddick's ass back here with more light so we can get off this fucking rock."

Shepard stared at her as though she'd grown a second head but helped with scraping off one the labels with her nails while Jack and Imam collected the worm.

"It's suicide to go out there, Fry," Shepard commented, beginning to stuff worms into her bottle.

"It's suicide to stay," she retorted dryly, unwilling to change her mind.

Shepard had not come back for that, unable to deny the truth there. If they didn't try, they'd die. At least by searching for the settlement they had a chance to catch Riddick before he took off.

For countless minutes that felt like hours they worked on jamming the worms into the bottles and scraping off the labels to enhance the brightness of the lights. Anything was better than nothing, but the brighter the better.

"Two full," Fry said to herself, nodding. "All right, I'm taking one now to go find him. Should be able to see his boot prints in the mud. Someone help me move the rock."

"Wait!" Shepard picked up the other bottle. "I'm going with you."

Jack gaped. "You're leaving too?"

Fry shook her head at Shepard. "No, you're not."

"You're going to need someone watching your back," Shepard reasoned, snatching her knife from her. "There are enough worms for them to have a bottle, but out there two will be better than one. You can't deny that."

Running her fingers through her hair, Fry mumbled a curse under her breath but nodded reluctantly, permitting her to come along.

"No!" Jack snapped, her biotics flaring. "You can't!"

Shepard placed her hands on the girls shoulders, ignoring the zing that ran up her arms from the biotics, and said gently, "We'll be back for you, I promise. If anything happens or if Imam thinks you two should make a run for it, put up a barrier and run."

"I don't know how long I can keep up a barrier like that with those things out there," she argued, losing some of her bite as her glow faded.

"Jack, I have the utmost faith in your abilities. You've got a lot of biotic power – I know you can use it to keep you and Imam safe," she reasoned, smiling slightly.

Realizing just how useless it was to argue, she nodded, sniffling.

She knew it was a possibility that she wouldn't come back, so Shepard slipped the straps of her precious back pack off her shoulders and handed it to Jack. "Just in case, keep that safe for me."

"That's reassuring," she mumbled, putting it on her back.

"Don't worry," Fry said, patting her shoulder. To both Imam and the girl, she promised, "We'll be back with more light – me, Shepard, _and _Riddick."

With nothing left to say, the two blonds pushed the rock out of the way with some serious effort and quickly pushed it back into the opening, holding their lights up high to ward off the creatures. Ice cold rain pelted down on the, drenching them from head to toe, and Shepard's hair fell slack from its ponytail, tangling and becoming plastered to her face as they ran. They followed the barely-there foot prints left in the mud that had filled with rain, the skids from the cells. The hike up the hill was incredibly difficult and both women slipped in the mud, sliding down a few feet every so often.

"You know, there's a chance we won't make it," Shepard commented upon hearing the screeches and clicks drawing closer and closer to them, diving down close before flying away a few feet. They were like sitting ducks in the rain.

Fry spared her a quick glance. "We don't have any other choice. The least we can do is try and give Jack and Imam a little hope."

A little hope wouldn't matter if they ended up dying.

Back on Mindoir, she'd done some terrible things that saw to the death of a few friends just so she could have a chance to live for a little longer. The guilt lingered in her soul like a wound that refused to heal, and she couldn't help but feel like she was doing the same thing all over again. Unless she did something drastic, she'd have left Jack and Imam alone in that cave to die. Forget about her good intentions of trying – it didn't mean a damn thing if the died from being slaughtered, or if she and Fry failed and died trying to get to the settlement.

They reached the top of the steep hill and gasped at what lay before them. Not too far away was the settlement, the lights of the skiff blinking.

So close… they'd been so close and Riddick lied to them.

When the made to continue on, they found their path blocked by more than a couple creatures, and soon they were surrounded. Even with their lights, it seemed unlikely that they would make it.

"Run," Shepard whispered, making a snap decision.

Fry's blue eyes darted to her, brows furrowing in question. "What?"

"On Mindoir, I managed to find a few of my friends just before we were forced to run from a batarian squad that found us," Shepard explained, voice strained as she recalled the memory, the screams of her friends. "I was always running, always trying to be faster while in school, and… I was farther away when they got caught in a trap. They were screaming for me to help, to… to come back for them, but I was scared and just wanted to live so I kept running and didn't look back. Later they were found killed because they put up too much of a fight. I got them killed."

"Shepard…"

"Never again," she swore tightly. "I'm never leaving people behind again. I don't care if I die as long as the people I'm helping live. So, while you run to the skiff, I'll run to the left and draw them off you."

Fry opened her mouth, closed it, and then sighed and asked, "How are you going to draw them away?"

Holding up her knife, she asked with a shrug, "They like blood, right? I'll give them a little blood."

"Jesus, Karla," Fry groaned, opting to use her first name and shaking her head.

"Just go, okay?"

Tears welling up in her eyes, the older woman threw her arms around her in a tight hug that felt like goodbye. "Get your ass to the skiff in a few minutes, got it?"

She nodded, throat tightening as a few tears mixed with the rain.

And then Shepard broke away and started running down the hill and to the left, spooking the creatures with her sudden movement and the light. Extending her arm, she bit her lip and dug her knife into her arm, nicking the vein as she sliced through flesh. It wasn't deep enough to make her bleed out, but it caused a steady stream of red to pour from the wound.

A second later she heard the screaming and wailing of the creatures as the caught on to the scent and b-lined towards her, forgetting all about Fry.

Shepard's plan was working, now all she had to do was survive it.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write! Keep them coming!**_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **_**Last chapter of the **_**Pitch Black**_** portion of the story! Then starts the content from **_**Dark Fury**_**, and after that the part set in **_**Mass Effect 2**_** begins. **_

_**On another note, I have actually decided to include the Necromongers in this story. However, they will not be exactly like they are in **_**The Chronicles of Riddick**_**. To get rid of any confusion that may arise in the future, in this story the Necromongers are going to be a part of a culture that was indoctrinated by the Reapers, though they will play a part in the genocide of the Furyans.**_

_**And I want to say thanks for all the amazing reviews I've received for this story so far. Really, they do keep me motivated to write, and your input and opinions often give me things to think about while writing.**_

_**I read through the chapter for errors, but I've had a migraine all day so it's more than likely that a few things have been missed. Once the migraine is gone, I'll read through it again.**_

* * *

Sitting in the safety of the skiff, Riddick took his time adjusting the flight controls, in little to no hurry at all to get the piece of junk moving. The small cabin was illuminated with light and would do a sufficient job of keeping the creatures at bay if he were to open the hatch. He was in no immediate danger and didn't have to rush things. But that was only part of the reason why he was taking his time.

Every once in a while he'd pause and look to the hatch, listening to the sounds. All that could be heard were the screeching creatures, the pounding rain, that the beeping of the skiff. He knew what he was listening for and scolded himself, gritting his jaw and turning back to his work. Despite how he told himself that he was better off without them, he kept thinking back to the people he left behind in the cave, to Shepard and Jack in particular.

Those two girls had trusted him with their lives, and Shepard even acknowledged that she did trust him when he told her to do so. And yet he'd gone and left the in that little cave to die so he could live. The look Shepard had given him when he shoved her inside, the realization that perhaps she shouldn't trust him, would stay in his mind for some time and he wished he could burn her from his mind's eye.

_The girl survived hell on Mindoir for you to let her starve or be eaten_, the nagging voice in his head snapped. He shook his head. _I left her ass there because she and anyone else is a liability_.

No matter how much he argued with himself, he didn't work any faster to get the skiff off the ground.

Riddick picked fine time to develop a conscience, and he ground his teeth together angrily.

Being the good guy or even attempting to be one always caused him more trouble than anything else. The prime example was when he'd been a Marine and threatened to blow the whistle on the higher-ups he knew were doing work with Cerberus. His attempt at a good deed earned him three years in the prison called Deep Storage, ending his two year career as a Marine. That was when he learned it was better to follow his own rules and damn everyone else. Extra baggage and good deeds would only bite him in the ass.

With that in mind, he picked up the pace and prepped the skiff for flight, needing to be away from the God forsaken planet and all the confusion and emotions it brought to the surface.

Grabbing the harness, he buckled one side and went to buckle the other when movement in front of him caught his eye.

Standing outside in front of the skiff with a makeshift light, sopping wet, was Carolyn Fry.

Riddick had to admit that he was a bit surprised. With how she was acting earlier he wouldn't have expected her to leave the others behind. He didn't know if the fact that she did pleased him or disappointed him. Maybe a bit of both.

Whatever feeling Fry's action created in him, he unbuckled the harness and retrieved his goggles, putting them on as he rose to his feet to meet her at the ramp, more out of necessity than anything else – the light within the skiff wasn't bright enough to cause his eyes any discomfort. At the back of the skiff he lowered the hatch and soon Fry came into view, looking decidedly pissed and exhausted.

Impressed with her solo run to the skiff with the pitiful light she had, Riddick said with a smirk, "Strong survival instinct. I admire that in a woman."

"I promised them that we would go back with more light," Fry said tightly, ignoring him and breathing heavily from running.

"Did you?" he asked with mock interest, bracing his hands on either side of the hatch opening.

Glaring at him, Fry angrily threw her glowing blue bottle into the mud and taunted, "What, are you afraid?"

If she was trying to goad him into coming out of the skiff to confront her, all she did was amuse him and he threw his head back and laughed.

"Me? Afraid?" he questioned with a grin. "You're mistaking me for Johns."

Stepping towards him under the shelter of the skiff's wings, she continued on, "Shepard saw some good in you, and like it or not, she was right. You give a shit about us, or at least about Shepard and Jack. There've been plenty of times where they could've been killed but you've risked your ass for them each time, hell you even gave Shepard back her parents' wedding rings."

He shrugged, a carefree smile on his face. "Didn't need the rings. Not into taking trophies."

"Damn it, Shepard trusted you!" Fry shouted angrily with contempt.

Riddick's smile disappeared fractionally and he sighed, "Her mistake, not mine."

Fry shook her head at him. "I'm not buying it. There has to be some part of you that wants to rejoin the human race."

So he wasn't just going nuts thinking he was developing a conscious of some kind. Fry had seen him risk his neck for them and knew that something had changed within him. It made him wish he'd just cut them all down before any attachment had been formed.

But he couldn't let it affect him any more than it already had.

Stooping to kneel on the ground, he admitted quietly, "Truthfully, I wouldn't know how. I only deal in life and death. Things like friends, companionship, and helping each other? Shades of grey that I don't see."

Throwing her hands up in exasperation, she snapped, "Well then give me more light for them. I'll go back by myself."

She didn't want to go alone, that much was obvious. Perhaps she was trying to guilt him into coming along. The last thing she needed to know that the twinge of guilt in his chest was responding to her pleas.

"Okay," he said, calling her bluff. He picked up the belt with the lights and tossed it at her. "There you go."

Fry's eyes darted from the belt in her hand and back to him, her resolve faltering with each passing second, washed away by the rain that beat down on her shivering body. Going back alone was likely suicide, she knew that and he knew that, and he was dead set on not giving in and going back.

"Please, just come with me," she pleaded on a whisper, barely heard over the pouring rain.

She was determined, he'd give her that, and he bit back the impulse to just go with her and drag the others back to the skiff. With how thin her resolve was, how afraid she was to go back on her own, he knew he had her in the perfect position to which she could make a choice that would see to her living or dying.

"I've got a better idea," he started, watching her closely. "Come with _me_."

Fry's shivering stopped altogether and she stared at him, stunned by his proposal. Still, she considered it, glancing quickly at the skiff. But she didn't trust him. "You're fuckin' with me, I know you are."

"You know I am?" Rising to his feet, blocking her entrance, he said coolly, "You don't know anything about me. I _will_ leave you here."

And just like that, her will started crumbling to pieces, forcing tears from her eyes that mixed with the rain. She looked back the way she came, taking a step back before stepping forward again, unable to convince herself to go back or leave with him.

"Step inside," he instructed, moving to the side and permitting her entrance.

Fry shook her head, collapsing to her knees in the mud and rain. "I can't… I can't…"

"Sure you can." When she began crying, he sighed and extended his hand to her. "Here, I'll make it easy on you." She didn't move to accept his help, only cried harder until she was openly sobbing. "Take my hand – come on," he implored, keeping his voice as soothing as he could.

"I… I _can't_," she cried, shaking her head.

He didn't understand why she wouldn't just take his hand and save her skin. It wasn't like she hadn't tried to fuck over the others once before already. What was so different this time? It occurred to him that she might have grown attached to them just as he had. The difference was that he refused to acknowledge his attachment by going back for them.

"Look, no one's going to blame you," he promised in case that was what had her hesitating. "Save yourself, Carolyn."

At last she looked up to him, blue eyes red-rimmed, and she begged brokenly on a sob, "Please…"

It was clear that she was too torn up to stand on her own, let alone move in the right direction, so Riddick walked down the ramp to her, instantly becoming soaked by the rain. Maybe saving her life by dragging her ass onto the skiff would bury the urge to go back for the others once and for all.

"Come on, that's it," Riddick urged gently, grabbing her around her waist to help her crawl onto the ramp. Once she had all fours on the ramp, she finally got to her feet, and he praised her, "Good girl."

Now that he had that out of the way, he started up the ramp behind her only to have his attention drawn out to the darkness when the clicks and screeches of the creatures arose from deep in the settlement. They sounded hungry, like they had something in their sights, and it occurred to him that there were none around the skiff.

The bottle Fry had held appeared to be filled with worms, so obviously there were other life forms on the planet apart from the creatures. Had some animal survived the harsh climate and the monsters, only to find itself being chased now?

A furious scream echoed behind him and Riddick just managed to turn around when Fry threw herself at him, sending them both into the mud and rain. The action surprised the hell out of him. Between helping her up and wondering what was being chased, something in Fry had snapped.

She straddled his waist, hand digging into his shoulders too keep him on the ground, and she shouted, "Now you… you listen to me! _I_ am the captain of this ship! And I am not leaving anyone on this rock with those fucking things." She stopped her tirade, glaring at him, and then raised her fist to hit him and shouted, "_We _are not leaving them! Not even if that means –"

Enraged by the mere idea that she would dare attack him, let alone attempt to strike him, Riddick grasped her elbow tightly before she could land the punch and flipped her over him. He swiftly righted himself and spun her body in the mud, dragging her under him. Grabbing her right wrist, he pinned it against her left shoulder and pressed his shiv against her neck, prepared to cut her throat if she tested his control any more than she already was.

Blinking rapidly as rain pelted her face, she ordered tightly, "Get that thing off my neck."

"Shut up!" he snapped sharply. She was willing to take him on if it meant he wouldn't leave without her _and _the others. But what else was she willing to do? He had one question and needed only one answer. "You'd die for them?" he demanded, needing to know.

"I would try for them."

"You didn't answer me," he snarled.

She swallowed, trying to open her eyes against the rain but unable to do so. After a beat, she nodded against his shiv. "Yes, I would, Riddick. I would… I would die for them."

Riddick abruptly released her wrist and removed his shiv from her neck, allowing her to rub the rain and mud from her eyes so she could open them.

Pulling off his goggles to peer down at her in pink, purple, and white hues, he leaned over her and muttered more to himself, "How interesting."

She could have become like him with how she'd nearly become a mass murderer on the ship. She was a survivor like him and had made it through the canyon to get to him, but even with freedom right in front of her she refused to take it if it meant leaving the others behind. She had the opportunity to live, but she would throw her life away for the others.

It was as he said – interesting. She was presented with the same choices he was, and yet she chose differently.

"Will you come with me?" she asked, swallowing thickly.

"Might be dead already," he pointed out, his own resolve dwindling.

"We have to at least try, Riddick," she insisted. A loud screech followed by some clanging of metal caused her to sit up as far as she could under him, twisting to look out into the dark settlement. "Fuck, Shepard's still out there, Riddick!"

Now that made him start and he rose off her, letting her up. "Still out there?"

"She came with me to get you but we were boxed in by those things. Either one of us or neither of us were getting to you, so she made the decision to go off on her own, said she left her friends screaming and begging on Mindoir so she could make a run for it and that she wasn't leaving anyone ever again. Claimed she was fine with dying if the others lived." She stepped to the edge of the light, scanning the darkness for Shepard. "She showed me her knife and said she'd give them blood, so I'm guessing she cut herself. Only way to get their attention on her and not us."

Riddick ground his teeth together and looked around.

Shepard had damned everyone on Mindoir to saver herself, but now she was willing to die for these people? He'd have thought that she'd want to live no matter what. Clearly, he was mistaken about what that, but he wouldn't have thought she'd be willing to die for people she hardly knew. She was strong willed and a survivor, but there was still compassion in her heart, still good inside that soul of hers. He couldn't say that he had that in common with her. He might have been arguing with himself about leaving, but he would have done so.

What was it about his damn planet that brought out the good in these two women? The good in him that he didn't think existed?

There was a sound reminiscent to a yelp, and he knew then for sure that Shepard was somewhere in the settlement running from the creatures. He just couldn't say for sure where she was exactly where she was. One thing he knew for certain was that her commotion and blood – if she had in fact cut herself – were taking the attention off of them and placing it onto herself.

Coming to a conclusion, Riddick said, "Let's go get the others."

Fry gaped. "But Shepard's out there! We can't just leave her!"

"If she's bleeding and we go get her we'll have these bad boys breathing down our necks. She'll get us killed," he explained coolly, already walking into the rain. "When you're all clear, if she's alive I'll find her."

"How do I know you won't just leave her to die once we're all on the skiff?" she demanded, retrieving her glowing bottle and following close behind him.

"You don't," he replied, moving cautiously but quickly. In truth he _would_ go looking for her after he got the others to the settlement.

Not a lot of people gave a shit about him or saw anything but cold, murderous evil in him. In his experience, there were few to no good people in the galaxy. Sure, there were people who did good things, maybe even were considered heroes, but so very few gave a shit about criminals and low-lives. Shepard was broken by what happened after Mindoir, physically and psychologically scarred for the rest of her life, but even after all the trauma she was one of the truly good people in the galaxy who did care, unless someone gave her a reason not to such as Johns.

Karla Shepard gave a damn, and that meant something.

* * *

A few minutes after running off, Shepard made her way back to the settlement just like Fry told her to do in search of the skiff only to become dizzy from blood loss. It wasn't likely that she would bleed out, but she'd realized that she had in fact cut just a little too deep to the point where it was affecting her ability to run and think straight. She was an easy target for the predators circling around her so she forwent looking for the skiff and instead searched for a place to hide, which was how she came to find herself crammed into a small crate near the Coring Room.

The Coring Room had been boarded up in light of the cellar but she didn't feel at all comfortable being so close. Now wasn't a time to be picky though, not when she'd lost her light after falling. The crate was small and hard to get to, making it the perfect place to take refuge until it was safe enough to come out.

_If it ever is safe enough to come out_, she thought grimly, keeping her hand pressed firmly to her wound while her knife rested by her side. With how much she was bleeding she probably smelled like a big juicy steak to the creatures.

Feeling more blood ooze through her fingers, Shepard decided to throw modesty out the window and worked at getting her brown tank top off so she could use it as a tourniquet. It was a nearly impossible task, getting her shirt off when her knees needed to be tight against her chest and her head lowered just so she'd fit in the crate, but eventually she got it off, leaving her upper body covered only by her black bra. She took one end of the shirt in her mouth then quickly wrapped it around her wound, sucking in a pained breath as she made a knot and pulled it tight. At least now she had her hands free.

She lowered her head further onto her knees, attempting to ease the dizziness in her head and rest for a second, only to jump and knock her head into the roof of the crate when one of the creatures managed to scrape the crate while trying to get to it amongst the other boxes and containers.

Reaching for her knife, Shepard held it tightly, staring out the small hole in the crate. Her light was yards away and periodically she saw something run past it, followed by that horrific clicking and screeching when one got too close. And then one ran right into it, knocking the light away from her view behind a structure.

Plunged into darkness, a tear slid down her cheek as she shivered violently from the cold, still wet from the rain.

Was this how she was going to die? Cornered in a little crate meant to store rock samples? Or would one of the creatures break in at last and eat her while she screamed?

Shepard wasn't sure which scenario she preferred. Being eaten alive or ripped apart was no way to go, but starving to death sounded like torture. No matter how she died, it was going to be a painful death, of that she was certain of. It was inevitable.

They weren't going to come looking for her, no one was. If Fry had managed to get to Riddick and convince him to help they would leave her behind. And that was exactly what she wanted them to do. Searching for her would be suicide and there was nothing to suggest that she was even alive. Fry had told her to get to the skiff in a few minutes and that time had come and gone. As far as anyone was concerned, she was dead.

But she refused to go out starving or being eaten. She had a knife and when it came time she'd take care of ending it herself.

Resting her head against the side of the crate, she looked out the little hole, hoping to get at least a few glimpses of the world before push came to shove. It was hard to make out much in the dark. All she could see were the outlines of the structures. Where the dim light was coming from, she could only guess, but she suspected it was the lights of the skiff. She hoped it was because that meant that Riddick was still around, maybe even helping Fry. It was a fool's hope, but it made her feel better to think that her death would mean something.

But as she looked outside, the light steadily grew brighter and brighter, bluish in color, and the light was too bright to come from the bottles of glow worms. She swore she heard Riddick shout something over the pouring rain, and when the creatures that were hovering around her crate suddenly flew off, scurrying towards the new disturbance, she knew she had heard right and that something was going on farther away towards the entrance to the canyon.

Seeing that now was her only chance, Shepard clutched her knife tightly and slowly lifted the lid of the crate. It only opened about half-way in the small space, but it was enough for her to squirm out into the pouring rain. She wanted to call out, to scream for whoever was out there, but fear prevented her from doing so, and she found that her legs wouldn't obey her commands to move deeper into the near-darkness of the night. Fear truly could be paralyzing and she had to grind her teeth and force herself to start walking, but upon hearing splashes in the puddles that didn't come from the rain, she froze. Too afraid to move, she listened as the splashing grew closer and slowly realized that what she was hearing was the sound of boots hitting the puddles in rapid succession as their owner ran through the settlement in her direction.

She took a nervous step back, but then grit her teeth and slowly walked in the direction of the sound. What she was hearing sounded like boots splashing, not a sound one of the creatures, so the only plausible conclusion could be that it was one of her fellow survivors.

She just hoped she wasn't mistaking the sound for something it wasn't and found herself having her head bitten off.

And then there was movement behind her, followed by the telltale screeching of the creatures on the scent of prey, ant the prey was her.

"Move!" came a shout from ahead of her, and her heart skipped a beat in pure relief as her feet kicked at the mud in a run, obeying his sudden command the moment it left his mouth.

As soon as she was within reach, Riddick grabbed her elbow in a grip that was too tight but necessary with how slick the rain made things, and together they ran through the maze of crates and storage unites. And all the while Shepard's mind was struggling to keep up.

Riddick hadn't left, and she hadn't been abandoned. For whatever reason, he'd come looking for her. She knew she'd seen some good in him – if there wasn't, he wouldn't be leading her to safety. So, had Fry found him and convinced him to wait, or had something internal changed his mind. There was no time to ask right now, not when ravenous creatures were on their ass.

Rounding a corner, rain beating down on them, Shepard spared a glance behind her in search for their pursuers, and failed to notice the one that landed feet in front of them until Riddick yanked back on her arm sharply, stopping her dead in her tracks.

Gaping, Shepard looked to her bleeding arm then back to the beast before her, petrified with fear.

She was like a walking dinner bell.

There was no way they'd be able to pass unnoticed.

And then Riddick shoved her forcefully in the direction of the creature.

He was going to feed her to it and then make a break for it! That had to be his plan – he was going to kill her!

Inches from the monster, the convict grasped her shoulders as he came up behind her and pulled her tightly against his chest. She made to scream, to shout his insanity, but a large hand covered her mouth, preventing any sound from coming out a split second before the creature turned to face them.

"Follow my lead," Riddick hissed in her ear.

Gulping, she nodded, and when he leaned to the left, she did so as well, and together they then leaned to the right.

It took her a moment to realize that they were remaining directly between the creatures head.

The thing could smell her blood, judging by the almost desperate clicking and the turning of its head back and forth in search of the source, but for whatever reason it couldn't "see" them, couldn't locate them. Whatever the reason for its sudden blindness, Shepard didn't really care. All that mattered to her was the fact that in such close proximity both she and Riddick were safe – for now.

An eternity passed before the creature growled and backed away, no longer clicking.

It had given up its search, and Shepard bit back a sigh of relief as Riddick lowered his hand from her mouth and began to slowly back her up with him. With the creature still blocking their path, they needed to find another way to get back to the ship.

A loud splash sounded behind them and Riddick spun around to come face to face with yet another creature. Only this one had spotted them, and its clicking alerted its fellow monster.

Spinning around, the creature they'd tricked hissed, snarled, and clicked as it spotted them at last.

Hauling her behind him, Riddick slowly backed them up towards a narrow gap in the crates, bone-knife raised as she fisted her hand fearfully in the back of his black wife-beater.

"Run," he hissed under his breath, attention torn between her and the two creatures.

"No, you'll –"

"I said run!" he shouted and forcefully shoved her into the narrow gap just seconds before one of the creatures lunged at him.

Stunned by the sounds of the snarling monsters and Riddick's enraged cries, she didn't move for several seconds. It wasn't until Riddick's back slammed into one of the crates after being thrown that she snapped out of it and hurriedly squeezed through to the other side, running through the mud and rain as fast as her tired legs could carry her with the convicts shouts and the beasts' squeals echoing behind her.

She had to get to the skiff.

She had to find Fry.

Leaving Riddick behind wasn't an option because for whatever reason, he came back for her. That was enough to erase any ill will she felt towards him for leaving them in that little crevice in the canyon.

So enthralled in her thoughts, she failed to see the figure darting out from around the corner and screamed in a panic when it grabbed her by the shoulders.

"Karla!" Fry exclaimed, looking her over and then around her in search of their fellow survivor. "Where's Riddick?"

"H-He's back there. We... he told me to run!" she explained in one breath. Another cry echoed through the air and she fought against Fry's hold on her. "We have to go back! We can't leave him!"

Fry dragging her back and pushed her in the direction of the skiff. "I'll find him. You get to the skiff and keep the others safe."

"But I –"

"If we don't come back, they're going to need you," she reasoned sharply. "Now, go!"

Shepard hesitated for a brief second before turning on her heel and running the way Fry had come in search for the skiff that would take them off the hellish planet. More than ever she wanted to help Fry, to go with her to find Riddick, but Jack needed her and she doubted Imam knew how to pilot the skiff. While she couldn't say she was an expert on any flying crafts, it had looked similar to what her father once took her up in.

How hard could it be?

Hurrying to the skiff, she nearly collapsed in relief when she saw it with its ramp lowered and light spilling into the darkness.

Staring wide eyed, Jack scrambled out of Imam's grasp and ran to her. "Shepard! I thought…" Jack didn't finish but she did swallow thickly, blinking rapidly. It could have been the rain, and it could not have been. Either way Shepard figured that was the closest she'd ever get to hearing the girl express relief that she was alive, and she'd happily take whatever she could get.

Shivering, cold and tired from the past events and blood loss, she walked to the ramp and sat down to catch her breath.

"Are you all right?" asked Imam, kneeling beside her and taking her wounded arm in his hands, forcing a pained hiss from her lips.

Despite the pain and how lightheaded she felt, she nodded slowly, eyes locked on the darkness, praying that Riddick and Fry would emerge safe and sound. It was a fool's hope, she knew that, but the hope was there nonetheless. Those two had helped her more than she could possibly convey.

"Fry went to find Riddick," Shepard explained, voice distant as she waited for the two figures who would not appear.

"Yes." Imam nodded, already knowing this. "He separated from us to find you once we cleared the hill."

Looking between the two, Jack took a step closer to the darkness, clearly wanting the two to return just as much as Shepard did. "We're gonna go find them right? We're not gonna leave them, are we?"

Imam sighed sorrowfully, looking on the girl with regret. "Had she found Mr. Riddick, she would have returned by now."

"Bull shit!" Jack snapped, body flickering with blue light. "We gotta go find them!"

Before Jack could get too far, Shepard grasped her elbow tightly, stopping her.

Stunned, even a little betrayed, Jack demanded, "He saved you're ass, and you're gonna leave him?"

"I'm going to power up the skiff, and then we're going to wait," she corrected. To Imam, she added more forcefully, "We're going to wait as long as we can."

He looked ready to argue, ready to protest that they needed to leave as soon as possible, but he too glanced out into the night as if wishing they would appear. With a sigh, he nodded. "I will do what I can for your arm, and we will see what can be done with the skiff."

Jack frowned. "Is it busted?"

Shepard looked to Imam, and he to her.

There was nothing wrong with the skiff, but both needed to see if they would be capable of piloting it if they were forced to leave without Riddick and Fry.

"Uh, no, it's fine," Shepard said reassuringly, patting her young friend on the back. "Just want to make sure before we get into space. I don't think we want to find a breach in the hull up there, do you?"

Jack nodded quietly, silently waiting at the threshold to darkness.

"He'll get here, kiddo," Shepard promised, wrapping her uninjured arm around her shoulders.

A slight smile rose to Jack's face and she nodded once more. With a heavy sigh, the girl turned and walked up into the skiff.

"You should not have said that to her," Imam scolded gently, quietly. "I pray to Allah that I am wrong, but there is a very real chance that Mr. Riddick and the Captain will not return."

She sighed. "Jack's gone through things that no one should have to go through, let alone a little girl. She's only told me a little bit of what's happened to her in the past, but… she needs to have hope that good things do happen."

"And if they do not return, she will see all hope as false."

"Maybe," she admitted. "But that's a risk I'll take. I… I can't tell her that they may not come back."

Imam placed his hand on her shoulder. "Jack has found a good friend in you, Karla. But the truth, however painful, is sometimes more merciful than the lie."

Biting her lip, she reached up and squeezed his hand, providing no verbal meaning. He was right, she knew it, but she wasn't going to admit it out loud.

"You guys comin' or not?" Jack called from inside the skiff. "Or do I gotta look for problems myself?"

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Look for problems or cause them?" she muttered lightheartedly.

Chuckling quietly, Imam urged her towards the ramp. "Come. We will wait in the skiff."

With a nod, she started following him up the ramp when the screeching of frenzied creatures drew her attention to the darkness. The wind from their massive wings sent a chill through her, the cold rain not helping.

"We should get on board," Imam insisted, giving her arm a tug.

"Something's not right," Shepard said as she yanked her arm free, stepping further towards the darkness.

The monsters in the dark weren't circling the skiff, waiting for her, Imam, or Jack to venture to far from the light. They were going after something else behind the large containers in the settlement. And in the distance, no matter how faintly, she could swear she saw a faint blue light.

"Jack!" Shepard called urgently. "Jack, get over here!"

Hurrying down the ramp, nearly tripping over her own feet, Jack asked, "What's going on? Are they back?"

"You see that out there?" she asked desperately, pointing towards the light she swore she saw.

Squinting, looking in the direction Shepard pointed towards, her eyes then widened. "That's them! They're coming back!"

Shepard wanted to believe that, but the light was barely moving.

After the events of Mindoir, Shepard knew in her heart that something was not right.

"Think you've got another barrier in you, Jack?" Shepard asked as she looked to her.

She swallowed, but determination shone brightly in her eyes and she nodded, blue already flickering over her body. "Absolutely."

"Karla, the risk is too great," Imam protested, but she rounded on him angrily.

"I'm the reason they're out there!" she snapped. "I ran to buy them time, and Riddick came and saved me, then Fry came to find us and told me to get her while she went back for Riddick. We all owe them our lives! You can't stand there and tell us not to help them!"

He hesitated, clearly wanting to protest even as her words rang true.

"Very well, but I will come with you."

She shook her head. "No, stay with the skiff. Just in case… well, you know."

Just in case they didn't come back.

Someone had to get off the planet.

After what felt like forever, he gave a resigned sigh and handed off his weapon to her. "Be safe, and may Allah watch over you both."

That last bit wasn't as reassuring as he'd probably meant for it to be.

Swallowing the fear rising in her chest along with adrenaline, Shepard looked to Jack and gave her a short nod.

"Remember to stay in the bubble," Jack muttered as she extended her arms and released a biotic barrier. "I'm not saving your ass if you wonder out of it."

She smirked. "Sure you would."

The girl snorted, but otherwise didn't argue as the two stepped out of the safety of the light and into the pounding rain, darkness engulfing them.

Holding tight to Jack's sleeve to ensure that they were not separated, Shepard looked all around her for any sign of Riddick or Fry as they made their way towards the dim blue light. It was harder to see with the even brighter blue light put off from the biotic barrier, but she could see it enough to know that it was still there.

"Riddick? Fry?" Jack called over the rain and strange sounds emitting from the creature that flew in the direction of the light.

The previous times the monsters had left them alone were the few minutes after the little bats got Shazza, and after the large ones got Paris and later Johns and Suleiman. Each time, the monsters had a meal to focus on.

Fearing the worst, Shepard picked up the pace, desperately hoping they wouldn't come upon a corpse. She'd already lost so many people, she couldn't lose both Riddick and Fry too. She couldn't take losing them both.

The sound of something falling against the side of the large storage containers brought both girls to a halt.

It could be the Captain or the convict, but it could also be one of the monsters.

Jack looked to Shepard, waiting for her to decide what to do.

For all the biotic bravado and tough talk, Jack was still a kid and she respected Shepard.

Blinking the rain from her eyes, Shepard moved to walk a few steps ahead of Jack as they pushed forward, just barely remaining in the protective biotic bubble. They came to the corner and Shepard hesitated momentarily before peering around it.

"Oh, God, Riddick!" Darting out of the bubble, Shepard quickly went to Riddick's side and hooked his arm over her shoulders after noticing that he was injured. She nearly buckled under his weight, and Jack scrambled over to keep them safe within the barrier.

"Where's Fry?" Jack asked in a rush. "Is she okay?"

Riddick ground his teeth, a look mixed with guilt, sorrow, and rage on his face. "She's ain't coming."

Jack blinked. "W-What do you mean she's not coming?"

"She's dead."

Shepard's jaw dropped and tears mingled with the rain.

Fry was dead?

Desperately, she looked behind them in search of Fry, hoping to God he was wrong or lying. But as she looked back to his face, she knew that he was speaking the horrible truth. Were he lying, he could feign sorrow and anger, but she sincerely doubted he could fake that true look of guilt.

What the hell had happened for _the _Riddick to feel guilty over a death?

Swallowing the thick lump in her throat, the tirade of feelings threatening to choke her, Shepard looked to Jack and ordered brokenly, "Lets head back."

"But –"

"I said, lets head back," she repeated more firmly.

Jack looked ready to argue, ready to bolt and go in search for Fry.

To Shepard's relief, Jack remained by her side even when it was obvious that she didn't want to. Shepard didn't blame her, wanting as well to go see for herself that Fry was dead. That woman had helped her so much, it just didn't seem possible for her to be gone.

In silence, the trio made their way back to the skiff, hurrying as fast as they could with the deep gash in Riddick's leg. If it bothered him, he made no indication that it did, and Shepard figured he was both used to the pain as well as thinking about something entirely different. She was certain that even someone as cold as Riddick could feel remorse. After all, Fry had put her neck on the line trusting him, so how could her death not bother him?

Still, as she glanced at him out of the corner of her, blinking away the rain, she knew she'd be hard pressed to get him to admit it. Weakness of any kind seemed difficult for the man to show, if how he was forcing himself to put weight on his badly bleeding leg was an indication to the fact.

As the monsters were getting ready to attack again, finished with their meal, they reached the skiff and were met by Imam on the still lowered ramp.

He hurried to them, making an attempt to aid Shepard with Riddick, but the convict shoved them both away and limped weakly but surely onto the skiff with Jack not far behind.

Imam looked around, noticing they were one short, and asked Shepard, "Carolyn?"

Tears welling up again, Shepard shook her head, and Imam lowered his.

Placing her hand on his arm, Shepard walked wearily ahead and onto the skiff, ready to be rid of the planet once and for all.

* * *

_**Coffee keeps me awake to write, but reviews keep me motivated to write!**_


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